Whistleblower News From The Inside -- September 11, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

 Pharmaceutical company settles FCA case for $7.55M — Galena Biopharma has settled allegations that it paid kickbacks to induce doctors to prescribe its opioid-based drug, Abstral. The company was accused paying kickbacks in the forms of speaking fees, performance fees, and free meals. These allegations were brought forward by a whistleblower who will receive a $1.2M award. USAO New Jersey

Connecticut substance abuse treatment providers settles FCA case for $627K —The Hartford Dispensary, which operates nine clinics and operates various outpatient treatment programs in Connecticut, has settled allegations that the company made false representations to the government about having a medical director, a required certification for a facility of this type. The case was brought by two whistleblowers who were former employees of the company. The whistleblowers will receive an award of over $112K. USAO Connecticut

Court orders South Dakota man to pay $222K in FCA case — Scott Thompson, who submitted a grant proposal to study solar cells, has been ordered to pay $222k because he defrauded the National Science Foundation. Thompson represented that a post-doctoral at South Dakota State University was the principal scientific researcher on the project when applying for the grant, and had represented that the student had worked on the project for 160 hours. In reality, Thompson had never met or hired the student. USAO South Dakota