qui tam

DOJ Settles Flurry of False Claims Act Cases Following Government Reopening -- But Where Are the Whistleblowers?

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team The Department of Justice (DOJ) wasted no time in getting back to business in fraud enforcement following the end of the longest Government Shutdown in history.  In the two weeks following the Grand Reopening on November 12, DOJ settled close to 20 False Claims Act cases involving a wide array of defendants.

What Has DOJ's Recent Burst of False Claims Act Settlements...

Horizon Healthcare Pays Record $100M to Settle NJ False Claims Act Charges Brought By Whistleblowers

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Friday (November 14), New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced that Horizon Healthcare Services (known as Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey) agreed to pay $100 million to settle charges of violating the New Jersey False Claims Act.¹  The settlement centers around allegations that Horizon systematically overcharged the State on its contract...

Mail Order Pharmacy Owner Settles False Claims Act Allegations of Kickbacks and Fraudulent Billing

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On September 26, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba announced that California resident Andrew Do agreed to settle allegations that he violated the False Claims Act through illegal kickbacks and fraudulent billing practices at his three mail order pharmacies.

Do’s Pharmacies

From January 2016 through December 2020, Do owned and operated three mail...

New Jersey Company Settles False Claims Act Allegations Over Ineligible COVID-19 Era PPP Loans

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team A New Jersey construction supply company, Ulma Form Works, Inc. (Ulma), agreed to pay nearly $2.9 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by applying for and receiving a COVID-19 era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was not eligible.¹

Ulma Did Not Meet PPP Loan Eligibility Requirements

Ulma, a Fair Lawn, New Jersey-based...

And Yet Another Whistleblower-Originated False Claims Act Cybersecurity Fraud Settlement

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On Tuesday (September 30), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Georgia Tech Research Corporation has agreed to pay $875,000 to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by failing to comply with the cybersecurity requirements of certain Department of Defense (DoD) contracts.¹  It is just the latest in a string of recent False Claims Act settlements...

Semler Scientific and Bard Pay $37 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations of Defrauding Medicare -- With Two Whistleblowers Leading the Charge

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Friday (September 26), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Semler Scientific and its former distributor Bard Peripheral Vascular agreed to pay a combined $37 million to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act.¹  The allegations center around their sale and distribution of the FloChec and QuantaFlo devices used to diagnose peripheral arterial...

Bayonne Drydock Pays $4M To Settle False Claims Act Charges of Using Unauthorized Employees on Federal Contracts

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Thursday (September 18), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that New Jersey-based Bayonne Drydock and Repair Corporation agreed to pay roughly $4 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by using unauthorized foreign citizens on various United States Navy contracts.¹

DOJ Claimed Breach of E-Verify Provisions

Bayonne Drydock has multiple...

Exactech Pays $8M to Settle False Claims Act Charges of Selling Defective Knee Implants

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On Tuesday (September 16), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Florida-based medical device maker Exactech Inc. agreed to pay $8 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by billing the Government for defective knee implants.¹  The settlement was approved as part of the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and would have been...

DOJ’s MSO Kickbacks Crackdown Continues with $6M Settlement

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team The Department of Justice recently announced a $6 million settlement from a laboratory CEO, physicians, and marketers who allegedly used management services organizations (“MSOs”) as vehicles for illegal kickback payments.¹  MSOs are business entities that provide administrative and other services to healthcare providers, but in this case they were allegedly used to...

Two Recent Whistleblower-Initiated Cases Targeting Pandemic Scams Underscore the Government’s Commitment to Combat Fraud

In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and offered forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses. This emergency relief was intended to help businesses with applicable expenses during the pandemic.

How Businesses Attempted to Defraud the Government During COVID-19

Many businesses used this time as an opportunity to defraud the...