Whistleblower Case
This archive displays posts tagged as involving a whistleblower case or claim. You may also be interested in our pages:
December 7, 2020
A chain of supermarkets in the New York area has been ordered to pay $4.7 million to settle claims under the state False Claims Act that alleged the chain operated a series of tax avoidance schemes from 2012 to 2018. The case against Food World entities Pine Tree Meat & Produce Inc., Food Jungle, Inc., Sonamoo, Inc., and CNI Meat & Produce, and owner Hi Jong Lee was sparked by a qui tam whistleblower and involved three schemes: the use of separate cash registers so cash purchases would not be recorded for tax purposes, the use of fake merchandise returns to underreport actual sales, and the payment of a majority of its employees in cash and off the books. AG NYDecember 4, 2020
Joint Active Systems, Inc. (JAS), a durable medical equipment manufacturer, and New England Orthotics & Prosthetics, LLP (NEOPS) have agreed to pay $1.59 million and $90,000 respectively to resolve allegations of defrauding multiple federal healthcare programs—including TRICARE, Medicare, and Medicaid programs in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—through a variety of fraudulent schemes. According to a qui tam suit filed by two former NEOPS employees, JAS allegedly recruited NEOPS to bill Medicare and Medicaid for custom-fabricated orthotics that were not custom-fabricated orthotics, nor medically necessary, and falsely claim that JAS-affiliated sales representatives were properly trained to treat patients during fittings. Additionally, JAS allegedly overcharged the VA for its devices by as much as 300%. For blowing the whistle on these fraud schemes, the whistleblowers will receive a 17% share of the settlement proceeds. USAO MATherakos Settlement Keeps Private Equity in DOJ’s Crosshairs for FCA Liability
Posted 12/4/20
December 3, 2020
Workrite Ergonomics LLC and its parent company, Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Co., have agreed to pay $7.1 million to resolve a qui tam suit brought by a former sales manager, Michael Franchek, which alleged that Workrite overcharged the federal government for office furniture purchased under General Services Administration (GSA) contracts. Workrite allegedly failed to provide GSA, and state agencies that relied on GSA's pricing, with accurate information during contract negotiations, and failed to extend lower prices to government customers as required by contract provisions. As part of the settlement, Franchek will receive a relator’s share of $1.27 million. DOJ; USAO NDCA; CANovember 24, 2020
Florida-based Doctor’s Choice Home Care, Inc. and its founders and former top executives Timothy Beach and Stuart Christensen have agreed to pay a combined $5.15 million to settle qui tam suits filed under the False Claims Act by former employees—one by Corina Herbold, and the other by Sara Billings, Misty Sykes, and Marina Eschoyez-Quiroga. In violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, the home health agency had allegedly set up sham medical director agreements with physicians to pay them for referrals, linked employee bonuses to referrals made by physician spouses, and provided medically unnecessary services to Medicare patients in order to avoid decreased reimbursements triggered by fewer than five skilled service visits. To settle the allegations, Doctor’s Choice will pay over $4.5 million, while Beach and Christensen will pay $647,000 each. Billings, Sykes, and Eschoyez-Quiroga will jointly receive $145,000 of the settlement proceeds; Herbold’s share has yet to be determined. DOJ; USAO MDFLNovember 20, 2020
Mori, Bean and Brookes, P.A. (MBB), a Florida-based radiology practice, has agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act. In a qui tam suit by Thomas Heyck, a radiologist formerly employed at MBB, the practice improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for radiological images that were interpreted outside the U.S., which are not eligible for reimbursement. MBB also submitted claims for images that were initially interpreted overseas, then reinterpreted and billed to a domestic radiologist. For blowing the whistle, Heyck will receive a 19% relator’s share. USAO MDFLNovember 19, 2020
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) subsidiary Medical Device Business Services, Inc. (MDBS) has agreed to pay $10 million to settle allegations that a former J&J subsidiary, Therakos, Inc., promoted two medical devices for unapproved uses in pediatric patients. A second entity, The Gores Group (TGG), agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle allegations of continuing to promote the devices for unapproved uses after it acquired Therakos in 2012. In an action initiated by a whistleblower, the government alleged that between 2006 and 2015, Therakos improperly promoted its extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) systems, used to treat cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, for use in children despite the fact that no ECP devices had been approved for that population. In so doing, Therakos allegedly caused false claims to be submitted to Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and TRICARE, in violation of the False Claims Act. The total settlement funds were divided between federal and state governments. USAO EDPA; CAConstantine Cannon settles with one defendant in case alleging bilking of the Medicare Advantage program. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington (formerly Group Health Cooperative) will pay $6.375M.
Posted 11/17/20
