The False Claims Act enables a private citizen with unique knowledge of fraud committed against the federal government (such as health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud) to file a lawsuit under seal (not accessible to the public) seeking treble (triple the amount) damages on behalf of the government... Read more about the False Claims Act
The federal government has intervened in two lawsuits against Florida cardiologist Dr. Asad Qamar and his physician group, the Institute for Cardiovascular Excellence PLLC (ICE), alleging that Qamar and ICE knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary medical procedures, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today. Qamar and ICE also allegedly paid kickbacks to patient by waiving Medicare copays regardless of financial hardship.
The... full text
The federal government has filed a civil False Claims Act complaint against Omnicare Inc., alleging that the company solicited and received millions of dollars in kickbacks from pharmaceutical manufacturer Abbott Laboratories, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.
In its complaint, the United States alleges that Omnicare solicited and received kickbacks from Abbott in exchange for purchasing and recommending the prescription drug Depakote for controlling behavioral disturbances... full text
St. Helena Hospital has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle allegations that the hospital knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the Medicare health care program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced last week.
The settlement resolves allegations that St. Helena Hospital knowingly charged Medicare for medically unnecessary percutaneous coronary interventions. Percutaneous coronary intervention, commonly referred to as... full text
Iron Mountain has agreed to pay $44.5 million to settle allegations that the company overcharged federal agencies for record storage services under General Services Administration (GSA) contracts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.
This settlement relates to contracts under which Iron Mountain provided record storage services to government entities through GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The MAS program provides the government with a streamlined process for... full text
Edward O’Donnell, the former Countrywide Financial executive who blew the whistle on Bank of America, will receive over $57 million for helping the federal government collect a $16.65 billion penalty for false claims, the New York Times reported yesterday.
O’Donnell filed a lawsuit under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which allows private parties with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on the government’s behalf and share in the recovery.... full text
Supreme Group has agreed to pay $101 million to settle allegations that the company and/or its subsidiaries knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the federal government for food and water supplied to the armed forces, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week.
According to court documents, Supreme Foodservice AG, together with Supreme Foodservice KG, now called Supreme Foodservice FZE, devised and implemented a scheme to overcharge the United States in... full text
Rite Aid Corporation has paid the federal government $2.99 million to resolve allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid programs by inappropriately using gift cards as inducements, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week.
The settlement resolves allegations that Rite Aid offered illegal inducements to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to transfer their prescriptions to Rite Aid pharmacies. The... full text
The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) has agreed to pay $4.08 million to resolve allegations that the district knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) concerning AmeriCorps state and national grants, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday.
CNCS is an independent federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, among other national service programs. MCCCD obtained AmeriCorps funding... full text
The federal government has intervened in a lawsuit against Air Ideal Inc. and its owner, Kim Amkraut, for allegedly making false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in order to obtain a certification that was then used to obtain government contracts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.
Under the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program, companies that maintain their principal office in a designated HUBZone and meet certain other requirements can... full text
The federal government has intervened in two lawsuits filed against Creekside Hospice II LLC, its holding company Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (SKG), and Skilled Healthcare LLC (SKH), alleging that these entities knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.
The Medicare and Medicaid hospice benefits are available for patients who elect palliative treatment (medical care focused on providing patients... full text
