Whistleblower News From The Inside - February 6, 2015
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Maryland AG urges adoption of False Claims Act — Calling it a powerful tool to prevent fraud and abuse in state and local government, Attorney General Brian E. Frosh unveiled his top priority for the 2015 legislative session and urged the General Assembly to adopt the Maryland False Claims Act. Maryland Attorney General
Medtronic Inc. agrees to pay $2.8 M to resolve whistleblower case — Medical device manufacturer Medtronic Inc. has agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve FCA allegations that it caused physicians to submit false claims to federal health care programs for spinal stimulation called “SubQ stimulation,” which has not been clinically proven to be effective for pain management. DOJ
Bacon with hair, toenails, feces, and cystic kidneys thrown in? – Four USDA inspectors blow the whistle on pork production by submitting public affidavits to the Government Accountability Project’s Food Integrity Campaign, detailing their experiences of how, as one inspector put it, “food safety has gone down the drain.” Huffington Post
Chris Christie faces new federal investigation over quashed indictments — Federal authorities have kicked off a criminal investigation of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, along with a handful of his administration members, alleging they broke the law by quashing grand jury indictments against the governor’s supporters. The Washington Times
Medical device manufacturer ev3 agrees to pay $1.25M to settle FCA allegations — ev3 Inc., formerly known as Fox Hollow Technologies Inc., has agreed to pay the US $1.25 million to resolve allegations that Fox Hollow caused certain hospitals to submit false claims to Medicare for unnecessary inpatient admissions related to atherectomy procedures. DOJ
Phoenix VA responds to whistleblower claims – Phoenix VA Chief of Social Work David Jacobson confirms that two veterans affiliated with the VA committed suicide in the past two months, but says “all mental health professionals are trained on how to do suicide risk assessments” and says the hospital has suicide prevention plans in place. ABC News