This archive includes posts from our “Catch of the Week” series, in which the Whistleblower Insider blog highlights particular government enforcement actions. Return to:
This week's catch of the week goes to Virginia-based military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation. On Friday (July 21), the company agreed to pay the United States a whopping $377 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by billing the government for costs unrelated to its government contracts.
Government contractors may only charge the government for costs directly related to a...
This week's Department of Justice (DOJ) Catch of the Week goes to electronic health record (EHR) technology vendor NextGen Healthcare Inc. Today, DOJ announced the company has agreed to pay $31 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting to the government the capabilities of its EHR software and providing kickbacks to its users to induce them to recommend NextGen’s software. The...
This week's Department of Justice (DOJ) Catch of the Week goes to Florida-based compounding pharmacies Smart Pharmacy, Inc. and SP2, and their owner Gregory Balotin. Yesterday, they agreed to pay at least $7.4 million to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act by adding an antipsychotic drug to topical pain creams solely to boost Medicare reimbursement. Not because of any medical purpose the drug...
This week's Department of Justice (DOJ) "Catch of the Week" goes to Detroit Medical Center, Vanguard Health Systems, and Tenet Healthcare. On Wednesday, they agreed to pay roughly $30 million to settle government and whistleblower charges of violating the False Claims Act by providing kickbacks to certain referring physicians. It is just the latest in a string of False Claims Act settlements concerning kickbacks...
Catch of the Week: Vascular Surgeon Pays Over $60 Million for Defrauding Health Care Programs
Posted 05/26/23
This week's Department of Justice (DOJ) "Catch of the Week" goes to Michigan vascular surgeon Vasso Godiali. Yesterday, DOJ announced he was sentenced to 80 months in prison "for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud health care programs by submitting claims for the placement of vascular stents and for thrombectomies that he did not perform."
In addition to the jail time, Dr. Godiali also has to...
TriMark Settlement Highlights Fraud in Set-Aside Programs
Posted 03/1/22
In a settlement that DOJ has touted as “the largest-ever False Claims Act recovery based on allegations of small business contracting fraud,” food services equipment supplier TriMark USA agreed to pay $48.5 million to resolve allegations that its subsidiaries used front companies owned by service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) to secure federal set-aside contracts. While TriMark made it appear...
The start of February 2022 brought resolutions in two different COVID-19 fraud cases, one in the Paycheck Protection Program and one in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Both involved scammers with previous criminal records who fraudulently obtained COVID relief money.
The Department of Justice continues to prioritize enforcement against fraudsters who take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program,...
Catch of the Week: Feds Shut The Door on an Uncommon Fraud Scheme involving New York Indigent Care Pool
Posted 02/3/22
The Southern District of New York announced a $12.9 million settlement with healthcare provider The Door, which provided services to uninsured youth for which it received reimbursement from New York State’s Indigent Care Pool. The settlement demonstrates the importance of whistleblowers, including the two that brought this case and stand to share in up to 25% of what the government collected, in helping to shut...
Catch of the Week: Texas Hospice CEO Gets 13 Year Sentence in $60 Million Fraud Scheme
Posted 01/28/22
A federal judge in Texas sentenced Bradley Harris, former head of Novus Health Services, Inc. hospice company in Frisco, to more than thirteen years in prison and ordered him to pay $27.6 million in restitution. The sentence, announced in a DOJ press release, follows his guilty plea on charges of conspiracy and fraud on Medicare and Medicaid.
Harris is the latest to be sentenced in a fraud scheme spanning...
Catch of the Week: 13 Conspirators Busted in $100 Million No-Fault Insurance Fraud
Posted 01/14/22
The U.S. Attorney this week announced the arrest of doctors, businesspeople, an attorney, a New York police officer, and several others in one of the largest no-fault automobile insurance fraud takedowns in history.
The investigation leading to their arrest was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. The...