Whistleblower News From The Inside - February 15, 2018

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Indian bank uncovers $1.8B fraud — A single branch of Punjab National Bank appears responsible for the fraud, which centers around two junior bankers issuing “letters of undertaking” to get overseas branches of other lenders to extend credit to “a few select account holders.” Letters of Undertaking are used as a sort of guarantee on behalf of a company. The letters were then entered into an interbank messaging system, but not into PNB’s own, internal records. Reuters

Minnesota doctor settles FCA suit for $2.9M — Dr. Jitendra Swarup has settled allegations that he received unlawful kickbacks from several lens companies, resulting in submissions of false claims for ophthalmological products and services. Dr. Swarup had a consulting agreement with a lens manufacturer that paid him over $100k annually, and he received many luxurious hunting and fishing trips as “gifts” from the companies involved in the probe.  A related FCA case against some of the companies settled for $12M last year, and the United States is still pursuing another related case. USAO Minnesota

Pennsylvania hospice settles FCA suit for $1.24M — Horizons Hospice, and its CEO, John Rezk, have settled allegations that they submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid on behalf of patients who did not qualify for hospice treatment. Typically, for a patient to qualify for hospice, their life expectancy has to be six months or less. The government had also alleged that Horizons falsified records to support the false claims. USAO Western District of Pennsylvania