qui tam

Traditions Health Pays $34M to Settle False Claims Act Charges of Medically Unnecessary Home Health Services

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Thursday (January 22), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Tennessee-based Traditions Health agreed to pay $34 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary home health services and paying kickbacks to physicians in exchange for referrals.[1] ...

Healthcare Employees Sentenced to Prison for Multimillion Dollar Adult Daycare Fraud Scheme

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team A Texas physician and a clinic employee have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a multimillion dollar healthcare fraud and kickback scheme involving unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions. Dr. Osama Nahas, owner and physician at Crosspoint Medical Clinic, and medical assistant Isabel Pruneda were convicted on March 1, 2024 by a federal jury of conspiracy to...

DOJ's Annual False Claims Act Roundup For 2025 -- Another Record Year for Whistleblower-Initiated Fraud Enforcement

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Friday (January 16), the Department of Justice released its Annual Report of False Claims Act enforcement for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025.[1]  By all accounts, it was another record year for fraud enforcement with the Government recovering roughly $6.9 billion, the largest single-year haul ever under the statute.  As usual, the bulk of that amount --...

Kaiser Pays Record $556M to Settle Medicare Advantage False Claims Act Case -- Constantine Cannon Represented One of the Originating Whistleblowers

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Wednesday (January 14), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that several affiliates of Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente agreed to pay $556 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act by submitting invalid diagnosis codes for their Medicare Advantage patients to secure inflated payments from the Government.[1] It is the largest False...

And Yet Another Whistleblower-Originated Customs Fraud Case -- Ceratizit Pays $54.4M in Largest-Ever False Claims Act Settlement

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Thursday (December 18), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that North Carolina-based Ceratizit USA agreed to pay $54.4 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay duties it owed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the products it imported from China.[1]  It is just the latest in a string of customs fraud settlements...

Dana-Farber Pays $15M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations of NIH Grant Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Tuesday (December 16), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute agreed to pay $15 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by fraudulently securing and using National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants.[1]  It is just the latest in a series of False Claims Act enforcement actions against...

Constantine Cannon Partner Gordon Schnell Quoted in Bloomberg and Law360 On Zafirov Appeal of False Claims Act Constitutionality

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Friday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held argument on the Constitutionality of the whistleblower (or qui tam) provisions of the False Claims Act.  These are the provisions of the Civil War era statute that authorizes private parties to bring lawsuits on behalf of the Government against those that defraud the Government.  Over the past few decades, the...

Mindpath Pays $1.9M To Settle False Claims Act Allegations of Healthcare Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last week (December 2), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that North Carolina’s largest behavioral practice Mindpath Care Centers -- along with its former officers Jeff Williams, Abigail Sheriff, and Sarah Williams -- paid $1.9 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act by fraudulently billing Medicare for Psychotherapy and medication...

Swiss Automation is the Latest to Settle False Claims Act Allegations of Cybersecurity Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Friday (December 5), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Illinois-based Swiss Automation Inc. agreed to pay roughly $420,000 to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by failing to provide proper cybersecurity protections for its machine parts drawings for Department of Defense (DOD) prime contractors.[1]  The settlement is just the latest...

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...