FCA Federal
This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to the federal False Claims Act. You may also be interested in the following pages:
September 26, 2018
Health Management Associates, LLC (HMA)—now part of Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS)—has agreed to pay a combined $260 million to settle civil and criminal charges of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE and violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, and False Claims Act. The alleged fraud was revealed by eight whistleblowers and involved paying kickbacks to doctors for patient referrals, pressuring doctors to meet emergency patient admission quotas, billing outpatient or observational services as inpatient services, and inflating the cost of emergency services. The eight whistleblowers have been granted a combined $27 million award so far. DOJ; USAO EDPA; USAO SDFL; USAO WDNCSeptember 20, 2018
The Texas A&M Research Foundation (TAMRF) has agreed to pay $750,00 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by charging various federal agencies for grant-related expenses not qualified to be paid under the rules of the grants. According to a whistleblower lawsuit filed by an undisclosed number of current employees, TAMRF's improper charges ranged from overstating salaries, to inflating expenses, to expenses for completely unrelated subjects and unapproved persons. Some of the agencies affected include the Department of Education (ED), Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, National Science Foundation (NSF), and Department of Transportation (DOT). USAO SDTXSeptember 19, 2018
A nonprofit organization and its management company have agreed to pay $528,575.82 to settle False Claims Act-based allegations of grant fraud in connection with the Department of Justice's National Justice Information Sharing Initiative. In applying for grants, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, Inc. (NASCIO) allegedly failed to follow rules requiring the disclosure of conflicts of interest relating to American Management Resources, Inc. (AMR), which if disclosed would have disqualified NASCIO from receiving any grants. USAO EDKYSeptember 19, 2018
Calloway Laboratories, Inc.—a Massachusetts-based clinical laboratory—has been ordered to pay a civil judgment of $1,374,058 to settle claims first brought to light by a former employee in a whistleblower lawsuit. The laboratory allegedly violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, and False Claims Act over the course of six months by providing free testing supplies to doctors in exchange for referrals and then submitting reimbursement claims for testing arising from these improper referrals to Medicare and TRICARE. USAO EDKYSeptember 12, 2018
Sonag Ready Mix, LLC and owner Nicholas Rivecca have agreed to pay $629,732 to settle claims under the False Claims Act of defrauding the Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, which gives socially and economically disadvantaged owners of small businesses a chance to compete for transportation-related government contracts. As ineligible applicants to the DBE program, the defendants allegedly got another entity, Nuvo Construction Company, Inc., certified and awarded contracts under the program, then did nearly all of the work for the contract and received all of the profits. USAO EDWISeptember 12, 2018
A New York based long-term care facility, Centers Plan for Healthy Living, has agreed to pay $1,650,000 to settle allegations that it violated the state and federal False Claims Acts in billing Medicaid for services not provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. The alleged fraud involved enrolling unqualified patients and failing to disenroll recently unqualified patients from a Medicaid-funded care program over the span of two and a half years. It was eventually exposed by an unnamed whistleblower. AG NY; USAO EDNYSeptember 6, 2018
Newman Broadcasting, Inc. has been issued a judgment for breach of contract with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and will pay $910,700 to resolve a lawsuit alleging False Claims Act violations. While bidding for rights to certain radio frequencies, the Florida-based broadcasting company had falsely certified that it was eligible to receive a credit for new participants, when in fact it was not because it was partially owned and operated by an experienced industry professional. DOJThird Circuit Clarifies the Public Disclosure Bar in United States ex rel. Silver v. PharMerica
Posted 09/7/18
Whistleblower Marc Silver secured a victory from the Third Circuit on September 4, 2018, which held that his action was not blocked by the “public disclosure bar” of the False Claims Act, reversing a lower court that had dismissed his action. The Third Circuit’s opinion appropriately recognizes that a whistleblower can use non-public information as a bridge between public information and allegations of fraud,...
Catch of the Week — Ambulance Company and Clients Busted for Illegal Kickbacks and Cozy Financial Relationships
Posted 08/31/18
