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
Two orthopedic clinics, Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics P.C. and Appalachian Orthopaedic Clinics P.C., will pay a combined $1.85 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that they knowingly billed state and federal health care programs for re-imported osteoarthritis medications, known as viscosupplements, the Department of Justice announced last week.
Viscosupplements are injections approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain in the... full text
The government has filed a complaint against Kellogg, Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) and Kuwaiti companies La Nouvelle General Trading & Contracting Co. (La Nouvelle) and First Kuwaiti Trading Co. (First Kuwaiti) for submitting false claims in connection with KBR’s contract with the Army to provide logistical support in Iraq, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.
Allegedly, KBR knowingly made false claims to the government for a contract with the Army to... full text
General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GE Hitachi) has agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it made false statements and claims to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concerning an advanced nuclear reactor design, the Department of Justice announced today.
GE Hitachi allegedly made false statements to the NRC and the DOE about a component of the advanced nuclear Economic Simplified Boiling-Water... full text
RehabCare Group Inc. has agreed to pay $30 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a kickback scheme related to the referral of nursing home businesses, the Justice Department announced last week.
RehabCare allegedly arranged to obtain Rehab Systems of Missouri’s contracts to provide therapy to patients residing in 60 nursing homes controlled by Rehab Systems majority-owner James Lincoln. In exchange for this stream of referrals,... full text
BioScrip has agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that they received kickbacks from Novartis in exchange for recommending refills to patients, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week.
Novartis allegedly provided kickbacks to BioScrip, in the form of patient referrals and in the guise of rebates, in exchange for BioScrip recommending refills to its Exjade patients. This Exjade scheme violated the federal anti-kickback statute, which prohibits... full text
New York City (NYC) has agreed to pay $1.37 million to resolve allegations that the city’s Department of Education (DOE) violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicaid, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week.
Medicaid pays DOE a flat fee of $223 for each student to whom DOE provides at least two psychological counseling sessions in a calendar month. Half of that money comes from the federal government. DOE is not entitled to any payment if an... full text
St. Mary Medical Center has agreed to pay over $2.3 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it failed to administer certain contracts which led to overbilling from physicians, the Department of Justice announced last week. St. Mary voluntarily disclosed the allegations.
According to the self-disclosure and subsequent investigation, St. Mary admitted that it failed to administer certain terms for 15 recruited doctors and physicians with income guarantee agreements,... full text
Michael R. Barr, former chief executive officer for HealthEssentials Solutions Inc., has agreed to pay $1 million to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by causing HealthEssentials to submit false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.
The government alleged that HealthEssentials billed for services that were inflated or not medically necessary and that Barr pressured HealthEssentials employees to inflate the company’s billings, despite having... full text
CareFusion Corp. has agreed to pay $40.1 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks and promoting its products for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Justice Department announced today.
CareFusion, a medical technology company which develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceutical products (including products sold under the trade name ChloraPrep), allegedly paid $11.6 million in kickbacks to Dr. Charles... full text
Dr. Ravi Sharma has agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve allegations that he and his clinics violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for vein injections and physician office visits performed by unqualified personnel, the Justice Department announced yesterday.
Sharma, who owned and operated the clinic Premier Vein Centers, allegedly messaged his office manager instructing her to perform varicose vein injections on patients when he was not in the office. The government further alleged... full text
