Whistleblower News From The Inside — January 22, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

CenterLight Healthcare pays $46.7m to settle Medicaid fraud claims — CenterLight has admitted it improperly enrolled over 1,200 patients in its long term home health care program who attended or were referred by social adult day care centers and whose needs did not meet the billing criteria of the managed care plan.  SDNY DOJ

CFTC launches whistleblower website — The CFTC launched its Whistleblower Program’s new website, www.whistleblower.gov, which educates the public about the Whistleblower Program and allows users to submit tips about potential violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and apply for monetary awards.  CFTC

Owner of Miami home health agencies convicted in $57m fraud scheme — Between January 2006 and May 2013, Khaled Elbeblawy and his co-conspirators used the three companies to submit approximately $57 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare that were based on services that were not medically necessary, were not actually provided and were for patients who were procured through the payment of kickbacks to doctors and patient recruiters.   DOJ

Lawsuit claims abusive practices persist at ITT Tech — A federal whistleblower lawsuit against troubled ITT Tech alleges that ITT has repeatedly defrauded taxpayers by taking billions of dollars in federal student aid while systematically deceiving students and violating federal regulations. HuffPo

GM ignition switch fraud suit dismissed — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against General Motors Co. over a defective ignition switch after the car maker uncovered evidence suggesting the consumer bringing the suit had committed fraud. WSJ

Key issues in Lionel Messi’s tax fraud case — Messi and his father, who together have paid more than €5 million to the Spanish government in efforts to remedy unpaid taxes and related interest fees, are scheduled to stand trial in Barcelona between May 31 and June 3 for the crime of tax evasion.  Sports Illustrated