Whistleblower News From The Inside -- September 14, 2017
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
New York Hospital Operator Agrees to Pay $4 Million to Settle Alleged False Claims Act Violations Arising from Improper Payments to Physicians – MediSys Health Network Inc., which owns and operates Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital and Medical Center, two hospitals in Queens, New York, has agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, the Justice Department announced today. The settlement resolves allegations that the defendants submitted false claims to the Medicare program for services rendered to patients referred by physicians with whom the defendants had improper financial relationships. These relationships took the form of compensation and office lease arrangements that did not comply with the requirements of the Stark Law, which restricts the financial relationships that hospitals may have with doctors who refer patients to them. DOJ
Pacific Architects and Engineers, LLC to Pay $5 Million In False Claims Act Settlement – Pacific Architects and Engineers, LLC (“PAE”) has agreed to pay the United States $5 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly failed to follow vetting requirements for personnel working in Afghanistan under a State Department contract for labor services. PAE is a Virginia-based contractor that provides personnel and other support to various federal government agencies. The settlement was announced today by U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Steve A. Linick, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State. DOJ
5th Circ. Affirms Toss Of FCA Suit Against AndroGel Maker – The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a lower court’s decision to toss allegations that Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. caused health care providers to wrongfully bill the government for three of its drugs in violation of the False Claims Act, saying the relators didn’t offer sufficient evidence to back their claims. A three-judge panel ruled that relators John King and Tammy Drummond failed to prove that they were the original source of allegations against Solvay’s AndroGel drug and lacked evidence that the alleged off-label marketing of the company’s Luvox and Aceon drugs resulted in the submission of false claims. Law360