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Whistleblower Case

This archive displays posts tagged as involving a whistleblower case or claim. You may also be interested in our pages:

Page 9 of 111

August 23, 2022

Essilor International and related subsidiaries, which manufacture, market, and distribute optical lenses and equipment to produce optical lenses—have agreed to pay $22 million to resolve federal and state allegations of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid.  In two separate qui tam suits, former sales managers Laura Thompson and Lisa Brez, and Christie Rudolph alleged that Essilor violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act by paying illegal kickbacks to optometrists and opthalmologists to induce purchases of their products for patients, including patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid.  $5.6 million of the total settlement was allocated between states that were parties to the settlements, and $16.4 million to the federal government. DOJ; USAO EDPA; USAO NDTX; CO; CT; SD (see later CA settlement)

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, FCA State, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Medical Devices and DME, Medicare, Whistleblower Case,

August 15, 2022

Flight instruction company Universal Helicopters Inc. will pay $7 million, and Dodge City Community College will pay $500,000, to resolve claims that the defendants made false statements to the VA in order to receive funding through the Post-9/11 GI Bill program for training programs they jointly ran.  Specifically, the defendants were alleged to have falsely certified that no more than 85 percent of the students in helicopter flight instructor programs were receiving VA benefits.  The government’s investigation was initiated by a whistleblower suit brought under the False Claims Act by a veteran and former student in the program, William Rowe.  Rowe will receive $1.125 million of the settlement.  DOJ

Tagged in: Education Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

August 11, 2022

Menswear company Luchiano Visconti Loutie LLC d/b/a Luchiano Visconti and its manager Sasha Hourizadeh will pay $3.64 million for violating the False Claims Act by underreporting the value of imported apparel, resulting in over $1.8 million in evaded customs duties. Visconti and Hourizadeh regularly provided falsified invoices to customs brokers that significantly understated the true value of the imported menswear. In some instances, a complicit foreign manufacturer would provide Visconti two sets of invoices—one reflecting itemized pricing details at a reduction, and the second reflecting “services” provided which, when combined, reflected the actual value of the goods. A related whistleblower suit was filed prior to the Government joining the matter. USAO SDNY

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case,

August 11, 2022

Industrial battery maker Eos Energy Storage LLC will pay $1.02 million, after a whistleblower filed suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act. From mid-2018 to mid-2019, Eos failed to declare the value of certain components shipped overseas to be assembled and then imported back into the United States. Eos also failed to declare transportation and packing costs on more than 60 occasions, which Eos further acknowledged was their responsibility as importer of record. The whistleblower will receive 20% of the settlement amount. USAO NJ

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

July 29, 2022

Old Man’s Home of Philadelphia d/b/a Saunders House, a skilled nursing facility, will pay $819,640 for its violations of the False Claims Act. A whistleblower filed suit under the qui tam provisions of the FCA, alleging Saunders House overbilled federal healthcare programs for therapy services provided; billed for therapy services not provided; billed for unreasonable, unnecessary, and sometimes harmful therapy; and manipulated clinical services to maximize billing. Medicare Part A paid Saunders House based on beneficiaries’ assigned Resource Utilization Group, and Saunders billed at the highest RUG level—Ultra High or RU—despite the lack of reasonableness or necessity for the patients. USAO EDPA

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Provider Fraud, SNF, Upcoding, Whistleblower Case,

July 26, 2022

Mallinckrodt ARD, LLC f/k/a Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will pay over $233 million over a 7-year period to settle False Claims Act violations, which occurred from January 2013 through June 2020. During this time, Mallinckrodt knowingly underpaid Medicaid rebates on its H.P. Acthar Gel. The practice was exposed by a whistleblower lawsuit originally filed in Massachusetts. Mallinckrodt paid rebates for Achtar in 2013 as if it was a “new drug” rather than one that was introduced to the market in 1952. NJ OAG

Tagged in: FCA Federal, FCA State, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

July 22, 2022

Medical device manufacturer Biotronik Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $13 million to resolve allegations of paying kickbacks to physicians in order to induce use of their implantable cardiac devices, and causing false claims to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid.  The alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act were brought to light in a qui tam suit by Jeffrey Bell and Andrew Schmid, both former sales representatives for Biotronik, who as part of the settlement will receive a $2.1 million relator’s share.  USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, Medical Devices and DME, Medicare, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

July 14, 2022

BioReference Health, LLC, formerly known as BioReference Laboratories, Inc. and OPKO Health, Inc., have agreed to pay nearly $10 million and enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement to settle a whistleblower-brought case alleging it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, and False Claims Act.  The alleged misconduct involved making lease payments to healthcare providers that exceeded fair market value, and later failing to report or return any overpayments to federal healthcare programs.  USAO MA

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, FCA State, Healthcare Fraud, Laboratory and IDTF, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

July 13, 2022

Solera Specialty Pharmacy and its CEO, Nicholas Saraniti, has agreed to pay $1.31 million and enter into a three-year integrity agreement to resolve allegations of defrauding Medicare.  Solera allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for Evzio—a high-priced version of naloxone, which reverses opioid overdoses—based on prior authorization requests that contained false clinical information, that were not actually approved by physicians, and that improperly listed Solera’s contact information as if it were the physician’s.  In connection with a criminal information, Solera has also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement.  The whistleblower in this case, a former employee of Evzio manufacturer kaléo Inc. named Rebecca Socol, will receive a $262,000 share of the settlement.  DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medicare, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

July 8, 2022

Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc., which provides propulsion and power systems for vehicles belonging to the Department of Defense and NASA, has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit.  According to Brian Markus, a former employee, the company misrepresented its compliance with the cybersecurity requirements of contracts with those agencies, in violation of the False Claims Act.  For bringing a successful qui tam case, Markus will receive a relator’s share of $2.61 million.  USAO EDCA

Tagged in: Certifications, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

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