Whistleblower Rewards

February 6, 2017

U.S. hospital service provider TeamHealth Holdings (as successor in interest to IPC Healthcare Inc., f/k/a IPC The Hospitalists Inc.), agreed to pay $60 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare, Medicaid, the Defense Health Agency and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for higher and more expensive levels of medical service than were actually performed (a practice known as “up-coding”).  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. Bijan Oughatiyan, a physician formerly employed by IPC as a hospitalist.  He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $11.4 million.  DOJ

February 6, 2017

New Jersey-based Para-Plus Translations, Inc., together with its owners Robert Santiago, III and Sonia Santiago, agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by submitting invoices to federal and state governmental clients that purposefully overstated the travel time and mileage incurred by its interpreters.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Kimberly Martin under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  She will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (WDPA)

February 2, 2017

Pain management physician Dr. Robert Windsor, owner of National Pain Care, Inc. which owns pain management clinics in Georgia and Kentucky, agreed to the entry of a $20 million consent judgment to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act by billing federal health care programs for surgical monitoring services he did not perform and for medically unnecessary diagnostic tests.  The allegations originated in two whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Kris Frankenberg, Stephanie Herder and Bradley Davis.  They will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government’s recovery.  Whistleblower Insider

January 23, 2017

The SEC announced an award of more than $7 million split among three whistleblowers who helped the SEC prosecute an investment scheme.  One whistleblower provided information that was a primary impetus for the start of the SEC’s investigation.  That whistleblower will receive more than $4 million.  Two other whistleblowers jointly provided new information during the SEC’s investigation that significantly contributed to the success of the SEC’s enforcement action.  Those two whistleblowers will split more than $3 million.  SEC

January 17, 2017

New York-based asset manager BlackRock Inc. will pay a $340,000 penalty to settle charges that it improperly used separation agreements in which exiting employees were forced to waive their ability to obtain whistleblower awards.  According to the SEC’s order, more than 1,000 departing BlackRock employees signed separation agreements containing violative language stating that they “waive any right to recovery of incentives for reporting of misconduct.”  BlackRock added the waiver provision in October 2011 after the SEC adopted its whistleblower program rules, and the firm continued using it in separation agreements until March 2016.  SEC

February 1, 2017

Florida urologist Dr. Meir Daller agreed to pay $3.81 million to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act by causing claims to be submitted to federal health care programs for laboratory tests that were not medically necessary.  Dr. Meir practices as part of Gulfstream Urology, a division of 21st Century Oncology, LLC, which is a nationwide provider of integrated cancer care services.  The government previously entered into settlements relating to similar allegations with 21st Century Oncology for $19.75 million and urologists David Spellberg and Robert Scappa for $1,050,000 and $250,000, respectively.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Mariela Barnes, a former medical assistant for Dr. Spellberg at Naples Urology Associates, also a division of 21st Century Oncology.  She will receive a whistleblower award of $571,500 from the proceeds of the government's recovery in this settlement.  This is in addition to a $3,437,000 million award she already received from the prior settlements.  DOJ (MDFL)

January 23, 2017

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced an award of more than $7 million split among three whistleblowers who helped the SEC prosecute an investment scheme.  One whistleblower provided information that was a primary impetus for the start of the SEC’s investigation.  That whistleblower will receive more than $4 million.  Two other whistleblowers jointly provided new information during the SEC’s investigation that significantly contributed to the success of the SEC’s enforcement action.  Those two whistleblowers will split more than $3 million.  SEC

January 19, 2017

Nationwide retail pharmacy operator Walgreen Co. agreed to pay $50 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute by enrolling hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of government healthcare programs in its Prescription Savings Club program by inducing them with discounts and other monetary incentives. According to the government, Walgreens understood that allowing government beneficiaries to participate in the program was a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute but nevertheless marketed the program to them anyway and paid its employees bonuses for each customer they enrolled in the program, without verifying whether the customers were government beneficiaries. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJ (SDNY)