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
Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo U.S.A. Inc., f/k/a Toyobo America Inc. (collectively, Toyobo), have agreed to pay $66 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act that they sold defective Zylon fiber used in bullet proof vests that the United States purchased for federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced last month.
The settlement resolves allegations that between Toyobo, the sole manufacturer of Zylon... full text
UPMC Hamot (Hamot), a hospital based in Erie, Pennsylvania – and now affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) – and Medicor Associates Inc. (Medicor), a regional physician cardiology practice, have agreed to pay the government $20,750,000 to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that they knowingly submitted claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs that violated the Anti‑Kickback Statute and the Physician Self‑Referral Law, the Justice Department... full text
Pine Creek Medical Center LLC (“Pine Creek”), a physician-owned hospital serving the Dallas/Fort Worth area, has agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by paying physicians kickbacks in the form of marketing services in exchange for surgical referrals, the Department of Justice announced.
The government alleged that, between 2009 and 2014, Pine Creek engaged in an illegal kickback scheme whereby the hospital would pay for marketing and/or... full text
The Department of Justice announced that Hyperion Foundation, a Georgia not-for-profit entity (Hyperion), Julie Mittleider, a resident of Georgia and Hyperion’s former President, AltaCare Corporation, a Georgia corporation engaged in nursing home management (AltaCare), Douglas Mittleider, AltaCare’s Chief Executive Officer, and related companies, Long Term Care Services Inc. and Sentry Healthcare Acquirors Inc., have agreed to pay the United States a total of $1.25 million to... full text
Alden, New York-based contractors, Zoladz Construction Company Inc. (ZCCI), Arsenal Contracting LLC (Arsenal), and Alliance Contracting LLC (Alliance), along with two owners, John Zoladz of Darien, New York, and David Lyons of Grand Island, New York, have agreed to pay the United States more than $3 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by improperly obtaining federal set-aside contracts designated for service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVO... full text
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based subsidiary of Novelion Therapeutics Inc., has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to its prescription drug, Juxtapid, the Justice Department announced.
As charged in a criminal information filed in September, Aegerion introduced Juxtapid into interstate commerce that was misbranded because, among other things, Aegerion failed to comply with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). The resolution also... full text
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.
The settlement resolves allegations that the defendants submitted false claims to the Medicare program for services rendered to patients... full text
Family Medicine Centers of South Carolina LLC (FMC), has agreed to pay the United States $1.56 million, and FMC’s principal owner and former chief executive officer, Dr. Stephen F. Serbin, and its former Laboratory Director, Victoria Serbin, have agreed to pay $443,000 to resolve a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that they submitted and caused the submission of false claims to the Medicare and TRICARE programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month. FMC is a physician-... full text
Galena Biopharma Inc. (Galena) will pay more than $7.55 million to resolve allegations under the civil False Claims Act that it paid kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe its fentanyl-based drug Abstral, the Department of Justice announced earlier this month.
The United States contends that Galena paid multiple types of kickbacks to induce doctors to prescribe Abstral, including providing more than 85 free meals to doctors and staff from a single, high-prescribing... full text
CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center (St. Vincent) and its partner, CHRISTUS Health (CHRISTUS), have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by making illegal donations to county governments, which were used to fund the state share of Medicaid payments to the hospital, the Department of Justice announced earlier this month. Under the settlement agreement, St. Vincent and CHRISTUS have agreed to pay $12.24 million, plus interest. St. Vincent is located... full text
