Whistleblower News From The Inside -- September 28, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

SolarCity settles FCA case for $29.5M—SolarCity, a subsidy of Tesla Motors, has settled allegations it submitted inflated claims to the Treasury under a renewable energy grant program—“the Section 1603 Program.” Under the program, certain companies which produced solar energy systems received a cash grant equal to 30% of the cost of the systems. SolarCity was accused of exaggerating the cost of these systems. DOJ

South Carolina hospital settles FCA case for $7M—Anmed Health, a hospital in Anderson, South Carolina, has resolved allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare. Specifically, Anmed was accused for billing for radiation oncology services when there was no qualified practitioner to supervise the services, as required under Medicare rules. Anmed also settled allegations that they billed certain procedures as if they were administered by doctors, when in reality, the procedures were administered by nurses. The fraud was brought to light by a whistleblower, a former employee of Anmed, who will receive an award of $1.2M. USAO South Carolina

New Jersey adult daycare settles FCA case for $2.72M—Edison Adult Medical Daycare, and its owner, Dinesh Patel, have settled allegations that the company billed Medicaid for services despite Patel being banned from participating in the Medicaid program following a prior conviction. In 2012, Patel pleaded guilty to accepting kickbacks from an MRI provider in exchange for patient referrals, part of the plea deal included the ban on his participation in Medicaid. After the 2012 conviction, Patel transferred ownership of Edison to his wife, but continued to direct, manage, and supervise activities at the daycare center. USAO New Jersey