Whistleblower News from the Inside - November 8, 2013

FDA seeks to ban trans fats – The proposed rule would require food companies wanting to use the nasty artery-clogger to get FDA approval and meet rigorous and likely insurmountable safety standards.  Washington Post Swiss report claims Arafat may have been poisoned – Israel’s Foreign Ministry responds that report “is more soap opera than science.”  BBC EX-CEO of famed hospital sentenced to prison for kickbacks – John Reynolds, former CEO...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - October 25, 2013

Whistleblower enforcement provides 20-to-1 return – A report by Taxpayers Against Fraud finds the government recovers $20 for every $1 it spends prosecuting healthcare fraud under the False Claims Act whistleblower statute.  TAF   Top executive rushed security clearances – Employees at USIS, which performed checks on whistleblower Edward Snowden and alleged Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis (and millions of others with access to sensitive information and locations) were told to...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - August 2, 2013

MLB planning to ban Alex Rodriguez for life – Sources say that Major League Baseball may be poised to issue a lifetime suspension to Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez for his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs.  USA Today Former Goldman trader at center or mortgage crisis found guilty of fraud – In its first significant courtroom victory arising out of the financial crisis, the SEC succeeded in convincing a jury...

A Hot Year for Health Care Fraud Recoveries

By Marlene Koury The coordinated efforts of the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have resulted in a record breaking $4.2 billion in health care fraud recoveries in fiscal year 2012.  The agencies are required to collaborate under the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Program, which is a joint DOJ/HHS effort to coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement activities to crack down on health care...

More Trouble for Orthofix

By Marlene Koury Medical device maker Orthofix, Inc. this week obtained court approval for its June 2012 settlement proposal to resolve civil and criminal allegations that it defrauded Medicare through kickback schemes and overbilling for its bone-growth stimulators.  Click here for the original government press release.  The company will pay approximately $43 million for its misdeeds.  This payment follows on the heels of the company's agreement last month to pay $30...

Blackstone Medical Caught “Entertaining” Physicians in Exchange for Business

By Marlene Koury Orthofix International NV has agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that its subsidiary, Blackstone Medical Inc., ran a seven year long kickback scheme ranging from sham consulting agreements to providing physicians with adult “entertainment” to induce them into ordering their products.  Click here to see Department of Justice press release and here for the complaint. Blackstone is a maker of spinal implant and other spinal surgery...

SEC Continues its Crusade Against Foreign Bribery

By Gordon Schnell The reinvigorated efforts of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to fight foreign bribery continue to pay off.  This week, the SEC announced that the drug giant, Pfizer, has agreed to pay $60 million to settle criminal and civil charges that its subsidiaries bribed foreign officials in Europe and Asia in order to win business there.  Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), it is illegal for...

Here We Go Again -- Johnson & Johnson to Pay Upwards of $2.2 Billion to Settle Civil and Criminal Charges

By Jason Enzler Only a few weeks after GlaxoSmithKline's blockbuster $3 billion settlement over its healthcare fraud misdeeds relating to Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia, Johnson & Johnson is joining the party with a multi-billion dollar settlement of its own.   Though it has yet to be finalized, the Wall Street Journal reported that Johnson & Johnson and the DOJ have reached an agreement requiring the company to pay up to $2.2...

Big Pharma Strikes Again – Glaxo Settles Largest Healthcare Fraud Case in History

By Jason Enzler Earlier this month, GlaxoSmithKline entered into the largest settlement in healthcare fraud history -- a whopping $3 billion -- to settle a broad range of criminal and civil charges involving the company’s drugs and marketing practices.  Glaxo’s settlement easily surpasses the previous record for healthcare fraud, Pfizer’s $2.3 billion payout in 2009 to settle criminal and civil charges for improper marketing of its painkiller, Bextra. According to...

Swiss Giant ABB Engineers Takeover Of Baldor Electric With Avalanche Of Cash

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has given the green light to Swiss engineering giant ABB’s multi-billion-dollar acquisition of the American industrial motors firm Baldor Electric Co. This regulatory approval paves the way for ABB’s $4.2 billion, or $63.50 per share, all-cash purchase.  The purchase price was a 41% premium over the November 29, 2010, $45.11 closing price of Baldor shares, the day ABB announced the $4.2...