WATCH THIS SPACE: DOJ and DOE Call Out Lockheed Martin for Self-Dealing at Hanford Plutonium Site
Posted 02/15/19
FCA Federal
This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to the federal False Claims Act. You may also be interested in the following pages:
Constantine Cannon Partner Mary Inman Comments on Importance of Anonymity for Whistleblowers to Government Accountability Project
Posted 02/15/19
February 14, 2019
Compounding pharmacy Vital Life Institute LLC, formerly known as AgeVital Pharmacy LLC, will pay $775,000 to resolve claims that the company and its principals paid kickbacks to third-party marketing companies to solicit prospective patients, regardless of the patients' needs. The investigation was initiated by the filing of a qui tam complaint under the False Claims Act by Manfred Knopf, who received unwanted compounded medications from AgeVital that were billed to Medicare. Mr. Knopf will receive $139,500 as a whistleblower reward. DOJFebruary 14, 2019
Prime Healthcare Services and its CEO Prem Reddy, will pay $1.25 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act that two Prime Healthcare hospitals in Pennsylvania, Roxborough Memorial Hospital and Lower Bucks Hospital, billed Medicare for patients who were admitted when they could have been treated on an outpatient basis, and up-coded patient diagnoses to increase Medicare payments. The investigation was initiated by an anonymous whistleblower identified as a former employee of the Roxborough hospital. USAO ED PAFebruary 12, 2019
Michael Frey of Ft. Myers, Florida, a physician specializing in pain management, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in an illegal kickback scheme. Frey was a co-owner of Advanced Pain Management Specialists, P.A., and received kickbacks from A&G Spinal Solutions, LLC (which made checks payable to his wife) for a share of its profits from patient referrals; from a compound pharmacy provider; and as "speaker fees" from Insys Therapeutics, a pain medication manufacturer. Frey previously agreed to pay $2.8 million in civil settlement of claims under the False Claims Act. USAO MD FLFebruary 11, 2019
GenomeDx Biosciences Corp. has agreed to pay $1.99 million in connection with a whistleblower complaint by two former employees, which alleged that the genetic testing laboratory violated the False Claims Act in its submissions to Medicare. According to the unnamed whistleblowers, from 2015 to 2017, GenomeDx submitted reimbursement claims for running a post-operative genetic test on prostate cancer patients, even though that population did not have risk factors that called for the test. They will share in a $348,316.50 award as part of the settlement. USAO SDCAFebruary 11, 2019
North Greenville University (NGU) in South Carolina has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle claims that it violated Title IV of the Higher Education Act, as well as the False Claims Act, by improperly compensating student recruiters with bonuses while receiving federal student aid. The alleged fraud was exposed by Maurice Shoe, co-owner of a recruiting company partially owned by NGU; Shoe will now receive $375,000 of the government’s recovery. DOJFebruary 12, 2019
Jefferson Medical Associates, a Laurel-based physicians group, and neurologist, Dr. Aremmia Tanious, will pay the United States $817,635.06 to settle allegations under the False Claims Act regarding Medicare overpayments. The government’s investigation discovered that from 2012 to 2014, Jefferson Medical Associates and Dr. Tanious allegedly did not return overpayments they received on claims from Medicare. It is further alleged that from February 1, 2013, through June 30, 2017, Jefferson Medical Associates and Dr. Tanious allegedly used multiple medical codes when billing Medicare but the medical documentation did not support those billing practices. DOJCatch of the Week – Justice Department Sues Tennessee Pharmacies and Pharmacists Illegally Dispensing Opioids
Posted 02/11/19
Catch of the Week – EHR Developer Greenway Health to Pay $57.25 Million to Settle FCA Allegations
Posted 02/8/19
