Whistleblower Case

March 8, 2016

The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel profile whistleblower Brain Emery, represented by Constantine Cannon attorneys Tim McCormack and Molly Knobler.  Click here to read the article.

March 4, 2016

Constantine Cannon is pleased to announce that its client, whistleblower Brian Emery, helped the U.S. Government recover $439,500 over allegations of faulty workmanship and the use of non-compliant materials in three federal building projects in Maine.  Click here to read more.

March 2, 2016

Mark T. Conklin, the former owner and operator of Florida-based Recovery Home Care Inc. and Recovery Home Care Services Inc. (RHC) agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve charges of violating the False Claims Act by paying illegal kickbacks to doctors who agreed to refer Medicare patients to RHC for home health care services.  Conklin sold RHC to National Home Care Holdings in October 2012.   According to the government, Conklin ran a scheme under which RHC paid dozens of physicians thousands of dollars per month to serve as sham medical directors who performed little or no work in exchange for referring their patients to RHC.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former RHC employee Gregory Simony under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  He will receive a whistleblower award of up to $315,000 from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ

March 1, 2016

Olympus Corp. of America, the country’s largest distributor of endoscopes and related equipment, agreed to pay $623.2 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute through a scheme to pay kickbacks to doctors and hospitals.  It is the largest payout ever by a medical device company for violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.  In addition, Olympus subsidiary Olympus Latin America Inc. also agreed to pay $22.8 million to resolve separate charges relating to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by John Slowik, Olympus’ former chief compliance officer, under the qui tam provisions of the federal and various state False Claims Acts.  He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $51 million from the proceeds of the government’s recovery.  Whistleblower Insider

February 29, 2016

Lockheed Martin Corporation (and subsidiaries Lockheed Martin Energy Systems and Lockheed Martin Utility Services) agreed to pay $5 million to resolve allegations they violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for payment under their contracts with the Department of Energy to operate the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky.  According to the government, Lockheed Martin violated the RCRA, which establishes how hazardous wastes must be managed, by failing to identify and report hazardous waste produced and stored at the facility, and failing to properly handle and dispose of the waste.  The government alleged that this conduct resulted in false claims for payment under Lockheed Martin’s contracts with the Department of Energy.  The allegations originated in two whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act by the Natural Resources Defense Council and several former employees of Lockheed Martin who worked at the Paducah facility.  The whistleblowers will collectively receive a whistleblower award of $920,000 from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ

February 22, 2016

Pennsylvania-based importers Ameri-Source International Inc., Ameri-Source Specialty Products Inc., Ameri-Source Holdings Inc., their owners, Ajay Goel and Thomas Diener, and the related importer, SMC Machining LLC agreed to pay $3 million to resolve charges they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a scheme to evade customs duties on imports of small-diameter graphite electrodes from China.  According to the government, Ameri-Source evaded antidumping duties on 15 shipments of the electrodes by misclassifying the size of the electrodes to avoid paying the duties, which do not apply to larger diameter graphite electrodes.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Graphite Electrode Sales Inc. under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The company will receive a whistleblower award of approximately $480,000 from the proceeds of the government’s recovery.  Whistleblower Insider

February 22, 2016

Government contractor Paige Industrial Services, Inc. agreed to pay between $450,000 and $675,000 to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims falsely certifying it had complied with the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires the payment of certain prevailing wages and fringe benefits to employees working under a government contract.  The work involved construction and maintenance services at the National Institute of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The unidentified whistleblower will receive a yet-to-be-determine whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  In a related parallel criminal proceeding, Luis Alonso Valle, owner of the Paige subcontractor construction company Valle Services, LLC., pleaded guilty to an illegal pattern and practice of hiring unauthorized aliens.  DOJ(MD)