Whistleblower News From The Inside -- January 12, 2018
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Michigan Clinic Office Manager Pleads Guilty to $131 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme – A Michigan clinic office manager pleaded guilty today for his role in a health care fraud scheme that involved the unnecessary prescription of controlled substances and that resulted in a $131 million loss to Medicare. Yasser Mozeb, 35, of Oakland County, Michigan, the office manager of the Tri-County Network, based in Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks. Mozeb is the fifth defendant who has pleaded guilty in connection with the Tri-County investigation. DOJ
Luxleaks Whistleblower Antoine Deltour has Conviction Quashed – Former PricewaterhouseCoopers employee Antoine Deltour was serving a six-month suspended sentence for leaking files related to tax-evasion schemes. But Luxembourg’s highest court on Thursday rejected the sentence, ruling that Mr. Deltour should have been recognized as a whistleblower. “Today is a victory,” Mr. Deltour said as he left the courtroom. “This decision is a significant step in the protection of whistleblowers in Europe,” Mr. Deltour’s lawyer, William Bourdon, told AFP news agency. “For the first time in Europe, a high court recognizes the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights,” Mr. Bourdon added. BBC
Second Conspirator Pleads Guilty in Fraudulent Medical Device Scheme – A second individual pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to defraud consumers by selling light-emitting devices as a treatment for more than 200 different diseases and disorders. Irina Kossovskaia, 63, of Ontario, Canada, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, Kossovskaia and co-conspirators marketed and distributed QLaser devices by falsely claiming that the devices could safely and effectively treat a panoply of medical conditions at home, including cancer, diabetes, autism, HIV, and heart disease. DOJ