Whistleblower Case

May 27, 2021

Navistar Defense LLC, a manufacturer of military vehicles, will pay $50 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it fraudulently induced the U.S. Marine Corps to enter into a contract modification at inflated prices for a suspension system for armored vehicles known as Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.  During negotiations for the modification, Navistar was asked to provide certain sales information to assess the reasonableness of Navistar’s proposed prices.  The U.S. alleged that Navistar provided the government with fraudulent sales invoices to justify the company’s prices, and that the government relied on these invoices during negotiations.  The investigation was initiated by a qui tam complaint filed by whistleblower Duquoin Burgess, a former Government Contracts Manager for Navistar, who will receive $11,060,000 from the settlement.  DOJ

May 25, 2021

Upper Allegheny Health System (UAHS), which operates dental clinics in New York and Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve whistleblower-brought allegations of submitting false claims to Medicaid in violation of the federal and New York False Claims Acts.  Between 2010 and 2015, UAHS had billed Medicaid for dental services performed using improperly sterilized handpieces, which are considered semi-critical devices and need to be properly heat sterilized between patients.  AG NY; USAO WDNY; USAO WDPA

May 21, 2021

SavaSeniorCare LLC and related entities (“Sava”) will pay $11.2 million, plus potentially more pursuant to an “ability-to-pay” settlement, to resolve allegations that Sava violated the False Claims Act by causing its skilled nursing facilities to bill Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable, necessary, or skilled, and that Sava billed the Medicare and Medicaid programs for grossly substandard (i.e., “worthless”) skilled nursing services.  The settlement stems from four separate qui tam complaints filed by whistleblowers Rita Hayward, Trammel Kukoyi, Terrence Scott, James Thornton, and Barbara Roberts, who will share an undisclosed portion of the government’s recovery.  In 2015, the United States intervened in the litigation and filed a consolidated False Claims Act complaint, alleging inter alia that Sava had exerted significant pressure on its skilled nursing facilities to meet unrealistic corporate targets for the highest Medicare reimbursement rates without regard to patients’ actual clinical needs, and improperly delayed the discharge of patients from its facilities in order to increase billings.  Sava will enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement as part of the settlement.  DOJ

May 19, 2021

In one of the first settlements to resolve allegations under both the False Claims Act and the Open Payments Program (formerly the “Sunshine Act”), French medical device manufacturer Medicrea International and its American affiliate, Medicrea USA Inc., have agreed to pay $2 million to resolve whistleblower Dory Frain’s allegations that the companies violated the Anti-Kickback Statute while entertaining U.S.-based physicians at a conference in France in 2013.  The settlement also resolves allegations that the companies violated the Open Payments Program by failing to report those expenses to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  USAO EDPA; CA AG; FL AG

May 14, 2021

Texas dentists Gunjan Dhir and Gaurav Puri and their affiliated management companies and practice groups will pay $3.1 million to resolve allegations that they fraudulently charged the Texas Medicaid program for pediatric dental services.  The investigation was initiated by the filing of a qui tam complaint by whistleblowers Sandy Puga, Nelda Torres-Brown, and Sonia Cardoso, who were former employees of defendants and will receive an undisclosed share the settlement.  Defendants allegedly billed for services that were not actually provided and/or misreported the provider of services by using erroneous Medicaid provider numbers.  USAO ND Texas

May 10, 2021

The University of Miami, which operates multiple hospitals and other healthcare facilities, will pay $22 million to resolve claims arising from allegedly fraudulent billing submitted to federal healthcare programs for laboratory services.  The university was alleged to have billed certain laboratory tests as having been provided at hospital facilities instead of at physician offices, without satisfying the requirements for that more costly hospital facility billing, including notice requirements.  In addition, the university was alleged to have performed and billed for a pre-set panel of tests for all kidney transplant patients, although not all included tests were medically necessary.  Finally, the university and Jackson Memorial Hospital, which jointly operated the kidney transplant program, were alleged to have violated related party restrictions by billing for pre-transplant laboratory tests ordered by JMH from the university, and JMH will pay an additional $1.1 million to settle these allegations.  The settlement resolves claims made in three separate qui tam lawsuits; the whistleblower's share has not yet been determined.  DOJ; USAO SD FL

May 5, 2021

Neurosurgical Associates, LTD and Dignity Health, d/b/a St. Joseph’s Hospital, have agreed to a $10 million settlement and five-year corporate integrity agreement to resolve allegations of violating the federal False Claims Act.  According to whistleblower Dr. Bruce P. Kingsley, Neurological Associates and St. Joseph’s Hospital improperly billed Medicare for certain doubly and triply concurrent and overlapping surgeries.  USAO AZ