South Carolina Lab Pleads Guilty and Will Pay At Least $6.8M to Resolve Kickback Allegations Involving Doctors

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Clinical laboratory LTD Holding LLC (previously Labtech Diagnostics LLC) based in Anderson, South Carolina, and its founder and CEO Joseph Labash, agreed to pay roughly $6.8 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that they paid illegal kickbacks to doctors from August 2018 to November 2021. This settlement brings the DOJ’s total civil False Claims Act recoveries related to Labtech to more than $11.5 million,...

Recent Enforcement Actions Target Two Healthcare Fraud Schemes Totaling Over $180M

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team The government is committed to cracking down on healthcare fraud schemes as evident in two recent sentencing announcements involving more than $180 million in losses. Missouri Resident Sentenced to Prison for $174M Healthcare Fraud Conspiracy A court sentenced Missouri resident Jamie P. McNamara to 10-years in prison on October 23 for orchestrating a scheme to defraud Medicare by unlawfully billing hundreds of millions of...

New York Doctor Receives Seven-Year Prison Sentence for $24M Medicare Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team The government remains persistent in its efforts to combat healthcare fraud, actively pursuing and prosecuting those who exploit the system. This ongoing commitment is evident in its recent enforcement actions, including the case we are analyzing in this post. New York doctor Alexander Baldonado, M.D., 69, received a seven-year prison sentence for submitting more than $24 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for medically unnecessary...

Owners of Wound Graft Companies Pay Big for False Claims Act and Kickback Violations -- DOJ Reinforces Zero Tolerance for Healthcare Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Friday (December 12), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the major sentencing, forfeitures, and penalties imposed on the owners of several Arizona wound graft companies for a $1.2 billion healthcare fraud scheme.[1]  DOJ described the action -- against Alexandra Gehrke and her husband Jeffrey King -- as “the first prosecution of its kind.” What Was the Nature of the Wound Graft Medicare Fraud...

Georgia Man Sentenced for $24 Million Medicare Fraud and Kickback Scheme

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On December 2, Georgia-based Patrick C. Moore Jr. was sentenced to 46 months in prison and required to pay more than $7.2 million in restitution for his involvement in a scheme that involved paying and receiving illegal kickbacks to persuade Medicare beneficiaries to undergo unnecessary genetic testing.[1] Patrick C. Moore’s Alleged Kickback Scheme Court documents reveal that Moore orchestrated a kickback scheme by directing a...

DOJ Settles Flurry of False Claims Act Cases Following Government Reopening -- But Where Are the Whistleblowers?

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team The Department of Justice (DOJ) wasted no time in getting back to business in fraud enforcement following the end of the longest Government Shutdown in history.  In the two weeks following the Grand Reopening on November 12, DOJ settled close to 20 False Claims Act cases involving a wide array of defendants. What Has DOJ's Recent Burst of False Claims Act Settlements Involved? Here...

From Succession to The Dropout: Top 10 TV Shows with Whistleblower Themes

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team It’s no surprise that our team enjoys TV shows that spotlight whistleblowers and the complex moral and personal choices they face. We’ve rounded up ten of our favorites that explore fraud, secrecy, and power through dramatized true stories, investigative documentaries, and fictional plots. Some feature traditional whistleblowers, while others highlight characters who challenge wrongdoing in unconventional ways. There have been countless TV shows shaped by...

New York Goes After Owner and Office Manager of Medical Transport Company for Alleged Medicaid Fraud and Money Laundering

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Two weeks ago (October 24), the New York State Comptroller announced it was charging the owner and office manager of Angel Medical Transportation  in connection with an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme.1 The State charged Angel Medical owner Mohammad Chaudhry with stealing more than $1.8 million from Medicaid, and office manager Noah Shook with paying kickbacks to Medicaid recipients as part of the scheme. Angel Medical...

Whistleblower Question of the Week: How Do Financial Rewards Work for Whistleblowers?

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team In the United States, financial rewards for whistleblowers are offered through several government programs designed to encourage individuals to report fraud, misconduct, or violations of the law. What Is a Whistleblower Reward? By initiating actions under the False Claims Act and other whistleblower reward laws and programs, whistleblowers may receive a percentage of the money the government recovers as a result of their information. If...

Two Recent Whistleblower-Initiated Cases Targeting Pandemic Scams Underscore the Government’s Commitment to Combat Fraud

In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and offered forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses. This emergency relief was intended to help businesses with applicable expenses during the pandemic. How Businesses Attempted to Defraud the Government During COVID-19 Many businesses used this time as an opportunity to defraud the government and failed to comply with the loan requirements. This...