Pharma Fraud

January 19, 2018

A federal court in New Jersey imposed a $5 million civil penalty and entered a permanent injunction against Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc., the North American subsidiary of Indian pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, for failing to comply with the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Act. Specifically, the company distributed household oral prescription drugs in blister packs that were not child resistant as required by the PPPA and despite being warned by its own employees that the blister packs had not been tested for PPPA compliance and that certain blister packs were expected to fail the PPPA’s child test protocol. DOJ

January 4, 2018

Kmart Corporation agreed to a $1 million settlement with the California Department of Insurance to resolve a whistleblower claim brought under the California Insurance Fraud Prevention Act.  KMart contracted with insurance companies to be reimbursed at a rate based on the company's charges to cash-paying customers, but was alleged to have submitted claims to private insurers in amounts that exceeded the agreed-upon rates.  CA

December 22, 2017

Kmart Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation, agreed to pay $32.3 million to settle allegations that Kmart violated the False Claims Act through Kmart pharmacies offering discounted generic drug prices to cash-paying customers through various club programs without disclosing those prices when reporting to federal health programs its usual and customary prices. Usual and customary pricing is typically used by Medicare and the other federal health programs to establish reimbursement rates. The settlement is a part of a global $59 million settlement that includes a resolution of state Medicaid and insurance claims against Kmart. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by James Garbe. He will receive a whistleblower award of $9.3 million. DOJ

December 20, 2017

Maryland-based pharmaceutical company United Therapeutics Corporation agreed to pay $210 million to resolve claims it violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by using a foundation as a conduit to pay the copays of Medicare patients taking the company's pulmonary arterial hypertension drugs. The government charged that covering the copays was prohibited remuneration used to induce Medicare patients to purchase the company’s products. DOJ

December 18, 2017

Florida-based pharmacy Glades Drugs, Inc. agreed to pay $300,000 to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act by waiving or failing to collect required copayments from Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Glades pharmacy technician Elvens Vertus. Vertus will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ (SDFL)

December 14, 2017

Texas-based DaVita Rx LLC, a nationwide pharmacy that specializes in serving patients with severe kidney disease, agreed to pay $63.7 million to resolve charges of violating the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for prescription medications never shipped, shipped but subsequently returned, and that did not comply with requirements for documentation of proof of delivery, refill requests, or patient consent. The settlement also resolves allegations that DaVita paid financial inducements to Medicare beneficiaries in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by two former DaVita employees Patsy Gallian and Monique Jones. The whistleblowers will receive an award of $2.1 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

December 12, 2017

Med-Fast Pharmacy, Inc. agreed to pay roughly $2.7 million to resolve both criminal and civil charges of violating the False Claims Act relating to the conduct of Iserve Technologies, Inc., a company co-located with and operated out of Med-Fast, filling prescriptions for nursing homes with recycled unused drugs that were commingled with drug stocks on hand at Med-Fast’s Institutional Pharmacy. The settlement also resolves allegations that Med-Fast sought Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for the retail-packaged version of diabetes testing strips while actually supplying patients with cheaper mail-order-packaged version of the same strips. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower will receive a yet-to-be-determined award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ (WDPA)