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Catch of the Week

This archive includes posts from our “Catch of the Week” series, in which the Whistleblower Insider blog highlights particular government enforcement actions.  Return to:

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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
Gavel close-up
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,

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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,

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

Posted  01/16/20
Pizza cut into wedges
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,

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

Posted  12/12/19
By Carolina Gonzalez
Candy gummy fish
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,

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

Posted  10/25/19
x-ray of a knee
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,

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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,

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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 – South Florida Health Care Facility Owner Sentenced to 20 Years in $1.3 Billion Fraud - The Largest Health Care Fraud Scheme Ever Charged by the DOJ

Posted  09/13/19
Philip Esformes, 50, of Miami Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a decades-long billion-dollar scheme to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid both for services deemed medically unnecessary and services that were medically necessary but that he did not provide.  Esformes personally pocketed $37 million from this scheme to fund his lavish lifestyle, while leaving elderly...

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

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CATCH OF THE WEEK – Mallinckrodt Pays for Kickbacks on Acthar; Investigation into Copayment Subsidies Continues

Posted  09/6/19
This week, the Department of Justice announced that pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt ARD LLC had agreed to pay over $15 million to resolve allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe Acthar.

AKS Allegations

Two whistleblower lawsuits brought under the False Claims Act against Mallinckrodt alleged that from 2009 to 2013, the pharma company, then known as Questcor,...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

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Catch of the Week — American Airlines Required to Pay Over $22 Million for Falsely Reporting Delivery Times

Posted  08/23/19
Ever wondered why a package you were desperately waiting for showed up late?  Ever wished you could hold those responsible accountable for it? If so, the U.S. government agrees with you.  Its recent settlement against American Airlines required the airline to pay over $22 million for allegedly falsely reporting its delivery times.  The resolution shows that timeliness matters and is yet another reminder that...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Contract Non-Compliance, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers,

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