Catch of the Week Archives - Constantine Cannon

Catch of the Week – SEC Hits Actor Steven Seagal for Improper ICO Promotion

Posted 03/6/20

This week’s Catch of the Week goes to the SEC for securing over $300,000 recovery from actor Steven Seagal in connection with his alleged failure to disclose payments he received for promoting an initial coin offering (ICO) conducted by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G). The settlement is part of the SEC’s broader effort to combat the role of celebrities in promoting novel—and sometimes fraudulent—cryptocurrency...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Cryptocurrency, Financial and Investment Fraud, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud,

Catch of the Week – Wells Fargo Pays $3 Billion, and another $35 Million, in Latest in Long Line of Government Enforcement Actions against the Bank

Posted 02/28/20

On February 21, 2020 the Department of Justice announced that Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve civil and criminal allegations that Wells Fargo’s “cross-selling” practices led to millions of accounts being opened for customers under false pretenses and without consent. These practices allegedly led to Wells Fargo collecting millions of dollars in fees. Less than one week later, two of...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Importance of Whistleblowers,

Catch of the Week: Guardian Elder Care

Posted 02/21/20

This week's DOJ Catch of the Week goes to Guardian Elder Care. On Wednesday, the operator of more than 50 nursing homes in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia agreed to pay roughly $15.5 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by billing the government -- Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program -- for medically unnecessary rehabilitation therapy services. According to...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Importance of Whistleblowers, Improper Medical Facility, Improper Medical Personnel, Medical Billing Fraud, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week – Hybrid Tech pays $29 Million to Resolve Claims of Collusive Bidding on Sale of Energy Department Loan in Case Brought by Creditors

Posted 02/6/20

Our Catch of the Week arises out of misconduct in a corporate restructuring, features a unique whistleblower, and resulted in a $29 million recovery by the government. The defendants, Hybrid Tech Holdings, LLC and related entities, were alleged to have rigged bids in a government auction of a loan made to Fisker Automotive under the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Catch of the Week, Government Loan Programs, Government Programs Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Eligibility,

Catch of the Week: Practice Fusion Pays $145 Million for EHR Kickbacks and Misrepresentations about Software

Posted 01/28/20

Healthcare providers talk about the importance of behavioral “nudges” – gentle pushes to encourage healthy choices and positive behaviors. In our Catch of the Week, healthcare providers were nudged to prescribe highly addictive extended-release opioids in a manner that was not consistent with accepted medical standards. Who nudged them? Their own electronic health records system, which was paid to do so by the...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, Criminal Proceedings, Electronic Health Records, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Pharma Fraud,

Catch of the Week – ResMed Pays $37.5 Million to Settle Five Qui Tam Cases Alleging Kickbacks

Posted 01/16/20

Sleep apnea equipment manufacturer ResMed agreed to pay $37.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by providing unlawful remuneration to durable medical equipment distributors, sleep labs, doctors, and other healthcare providers. It seems that ResMed’s kickback schemes struck many people as wrong: the settlement resolves five separate cases brought by...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Multiple Whistleblowers and First-to-File, Whistleblower Case,

Catch of the Week: Ericsson Agrees to Pay Record-Setting $1 Billion for FCPA Violations

Posted 12/12/19
By Carolina Gonzalez

This week’s “Catch of the Week” is a Swedish fish: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, the telecommunications giant based in Stockholm, agreed to pay over $1 billion in penalties, including $540 million to the SEC and $520 million to the DOJ, for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). This is one of the largest FCPA settlements in history. Ericsson’s corrupt conduct was pervasive and...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCPA, Financial and Investment Fraud,

CATCH OF THE WEEK – Osteo Relief Institutes, Pedaling Dubious Treatment for Arthritis, Tagged for Charging Medicare for Medically Unnecessary Services

Posted 10/25/19

On October 18, 2019, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with arthritis treatment provider Osteo Relief Institutes and seven of its locations in Phoenix, Arizona; San Diego, California; Lexington, Kentucky; Wall Township, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and, Colorado Springs, Colorado. According to the DOJ press release, the ORI entities, together with their principals, will collectively...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medical Billing Fraud, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

CATCH OF THE WEEK – Avanir Pharmaceuticals

Posted 09/27/19

Our Catch of the Week goes to Avanir Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Nuedexta, for allegedly paying kickbacks to physicians and engaging in false and misleading marketing tactics. Avanir allegedly marketed Nuedexta in long-term care facilities and targeted their sales tactics to encourage doctors to prescribe the drug to dementia patients for off-label uses. The pharma company agreed to pay over $108 million in...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Off-Label and Unapproved Use, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Catch of the Week — Texas Hospital Exec Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Medicare Fraud

Posted 09/18/19

On Monday, a federal judge in Houston sentenced Starsky Bomer, the former CFO and COO of Atrium Medical Center and Pristine Healthcare, to ten years in prison for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that bilked the government of $16m. Bomer was convicted by a jury in October of last year. His co-conspirator, Dr. Sohail R. Siddiqui, took a plea deal in 2017 and is serving five years in prison. Bomer will do time...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, Criminal Proceedings, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicaid, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Whistleblower Eligibility,

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Catch of the Week

Catch of the Week – SEC Hits Actor Steven Seagal for Improper ICO Promotion

Catch of the Week – Wells Fargo Pays $3 Billion, and another $35 Million, in Latest in Long Line of Government Enforcement Actions against the Bank

Catch of the Week: Guardian Elder Care

Catch of the Week – Hybrid Tech pays $29 Million to Resolve Claims of Collusive Bidding on Sale of Energy Department Loan in Case Brought by Creditors

Catch of the Week: Practice Fusion Pays $145 Million for EHR Kickbacks and Misrepresentations about Software

Catch of the Week – ResMed Pays $37.5 Million to Settle Five Qui Tam Cases Alleging Kickbacks

Catch of the Week: Ericsson Agrees to Pay Record-Setting $1 Billion for FCPA Violations

CATCH OF THE WEEK – Osteo Relief Institutes, Pedaling Dubious Treatment for Arthritis, Tagged for Charging Medicare for Medically Unnecessary Services

CATCH OF THE WEEK – Avanir Pharmaceuticals

Catch of the Week — Texas Hospital Exec Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Medicare Fraud

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