Whistleblower News From The Inside -- October 27, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Four Ohio dentists arrested on bribery and conspiracy charges – Four dentists were arrested on charges related to their compensation practices at MetroHealth Systems where bonuses were tied to kickbacks. Several of the dentists are also accused of underreporting taxes. Crain’s Cleveland Business

Georgia doctor sentenced to 27 months in prison for healthcare fraud – Georgia physician Robert Windsor was sentenced to prison for filing over $1.1M in false claims for surgical services not actually provided. USAO Northern District of Georgia

Montana state senators call for probe into state government whistleblower retaliation – Montana State Sens. Dee Brown (R.) and Bob Keenan (R.) called this week for a special legislative committee to investigate alleged retaliation against state auditors who raised questions over certain payments from the state government. Washington Free Beacon

Michigan immigration attorney arrested on bribery charges – Michigan immigration attorney Charles Busse allegedly secured deportation stays for his clients in exchange for payments to an ICE agent, who agreed to misrepresent the immigrants as confidential informants. The Oakland Press News

Judge considers whether Utah’s ‘ag gag’ law violates rights – Attorneys for both sides argued for summary judgment in a suit challenging the constitutionality of Utah’s prohibition on recording sound or images in agricultural facilities; at the close of the 4.5 hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby announced he will issue a written ruling. KSL

AHA says treating physician judgment like false claims hurts patients and providers – Advocacy group the American Hospital Association claimed in an amicus brief in a suit against Prime Healthcare that an uptick in outpatient observation care and decrease in inpatient stays could be due to increased federal government and whistleblower scrutiny of physicians’ judgment. Modern Healthcare