Criminal Proceedings

December 21, 2023

A Florida woman who submitted over $192 million in claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary and unprovided tests, equipment, and services, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.  Elizabeth Hernandez ordered thousands of genetic testing and orthotic braces for patients she never spoke to or examined, ultimately ordering more cancer genetic tests than any other provider in the nation.  She also billed for thousands of telemedicine visits that she never performed, often billing for over 24 hours in a single day.  DOJ

November 20, 2023

Two U.K.-based reinsurance brokers, Tysers Insurance Brokers Limited and H.W. Wood Limited, have agreed to pay $36 million and $22.5 million in criminal penalties respectively for participating in a scheme to bribe Ecuadorian officials through transactions based in Florida.  Tysers—then known as Integro Insurance Brokers Limited—and H.W. Wood were found to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when they paid $2.8 million in bribes to the chairman of two government-owned insurance companies and three government officials, by way of almost $30 million in commissions paid to third parties.  In addition to the criminal penalties, Tysers will forfeit $10.5 million, and H.W. Wood will forfeit $2.3 million, with H.W. Wood’s penalties reduced due to demonstrated inability to pay.  DOJ

September 29, 2023

North Carolina-based global specialty chemical manufacturing company Albemarle Corporation has agreed to pay over $218 million in penalties and forfeiture to the DOJ, $103.6 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to the SEC, and enter into a three-year non-prosecution agreement to settle charges of violating the anti-bribery, recordkeeping, and internal accounting controls provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  Albemarle admitted to using third-party intermediaries to pay bribes from about 2009 to 2017 in order to obtain and retain business with state-owned oil refineries in Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.  As a result, the company obtained profits of about $98.5 million.  DOJ; SEC

September 12, 2023

J&J Korea Inc. has been ordered to pay nearly $9 million in criminal penalty and restitution after pleading guilty to rigging bids and committing fraud against the U.S. government.  J&J was found to have conspired with others in order to win most of the subcontracts being offered by the U.S. Department of Defense for the maintenance of military hospitals in South Korea.  DOJ

August 18, 2023

The owner and operator of Georgia-based LabSolutions LLC has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for submitting over $463 million in medically unnecessary genetic and other laboratory tests derived from illegal kickbacks.  Minal Patel allegedly paid kickbacks to telemarketing companies to talk Medicare beneficiaries into getting the tests, then paid kickbacks to telemedicine doctors who signed orders for the tests without ever speaking to beneficiaries to determine need.  As a result of these fraudulent actions, Medicare paid over $187 million in reimbursement, with Patel receiving over $21 million personally, between 2016 and 2019.  DOJ

August 10, 2023

Colombian financial services institution Corporación Financiera Colombiana S.A. (Corficolombiana) has agreed to pay over $80 million to resolve foreign bribery investigations by criminal, civil, and administrative authorities in the United States and Colombia.  Between 2012 and 2015, Corficolombiana allegedly conspired with Brazilian-based construction conglomerate Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht) to offer and pay more than $20 million in bribes to Colombian government officials in order to win rights to construct and operate a 328-mile toll road.  As a result, Corficolombiana earned more than $28 million in profits.  Now, in addition to the financial penalties that it will pay—which will be divided between DOJ and SEC—the company will be subject to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ.  DOJ; SEC