Whistleblower News From the Inside -- February 26, 2018
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Palm Beach Dermatologist gets 3 Years in Prison for Health-Care Fraud – A Palm Beach dermatologist who overcame an abusive childhood as the son of a Holocaust survivor and gave mightily to Jewish causes was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison in connection with what federal prosecutors described as an $18 million health care fraud scheme. In sentencing Dr. Gary Marder, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg acknowledged the challenges the 61-year-old osteopathic physician faced in his youth and applauded his charity. But she told him and his roughly 50 supporters who crowded into the courtroom that a prison term was necessary not only to punish Marder but to prevent other doctors from ripping off Medicare and other federal insurers. Palm Beach Post
U.S. Probes MiMedx’s Federal Contracts, Accounting – Biotech firm MiMedx Group, which jolted investors last week by delaying its year-end earnings announcement, is under U.S. Justice Department scrutiny related to a pair of business practices, according to people familiar with the matter. Federal authorities are investigating whether the Marietta, Georgia-based company overcharged the government for its tissue-repair products, said a person with knowledge of the matter. The Justice Department is also looking into MiMedx’s distribution practices — including whether it inappropriately booked sales of products that hadn’t been ordered, a practice known as channel stuffing — according to several others familiar with that probe. The company said in a statement that it isn’t aware of any Justice Department investigations. It has previously disclosed that it’s cooperating with a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into how it recognizes revenue, and has denied wrongdoing. Bloomberg
Ambulance Provider and Hospital Agree to Pay $1,425,000 to Settle Ambulance Transportation Claims – United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced today that North East Mobile Health Services (“North East”), of Scarborough, has entered into a civil settlement agreement with the U.S. in which it will pay $825,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by providing medically unnecessary ambulance transportation. Maine Medical Center (“MMC”), of Portland, also agreed to pay $600,000 pursuant to a separate civil settlement. North East’s settlement resolves allegations that it improperly billed Medicare for non-emergency ambulance transportation of patients discharged from MMC from 2007 onward. The government alleged that North East improperly billed Medicare for ambulance transports of patients it falsely claimed were either “bed-confined” or for whom such transport was otherwise medically necessary. The settlement also resolves allegations that North East knowingly retained Medicare overpayments. DOJ