Whistleblower News From The Inside -- October 12, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Maintenance and hardware company settles Massachusetts FCA suit for nearly $2M—Home Depot subsidiary Interline Brands has settled allegations that it overbilled the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Massachusetts Department for Administration and Finance for janitorial supplies. The company also settled allegations that it submitted quarterly reports that misrepresented its pricing methodology. The fraud was brought to light by a whistleblower. Industrial Distribution

Florida businessman pleads guilty to FCPA violations—Fernando Ardila Rueda, the owner of several Floridian energy companies, has pleaded guilty to FCPA charges in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to the employees of PDVSA, Venezuela’s state owned energy company. Rueda is the tenth person to plead guilty in connection with DOJ’s investigation into bribery at PDVSA. Reuters

Atlanta chiropractors charged with fraud scheme—Drs. Allan and Stacy Spagnardi have been charged with fraud for using their chiropractic clinic to submit false claims to private insurers. The Spagnardis allegedly reported fake patient visits and exaggerated time spent with patients. Some of the claims were for the treatment of patients who were not even in the country at the time. One week, while the Spagnardis were on a Royal Caribbean cruise, they billed for 296 patient visits. The Spagnardis spent the proceeds of the alleged fraud at casinos, and on BMWs. USAO Northern District of Georgia