False Claims Act and Whistleblower News

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...
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recent posts - false claims act (FCA)

September 13, 2013
Farideh Heidarpour, her billing company A.B.C. Billing Inc., and her son Ali Heidarpour (who was also her employee) have agreed to pay $1.7 million to settle allegations that her and her company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to workers’ compensation programs, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Melinda Haag announced last month. The United States alleges that Heidarpour, her company, and her son submitted or caused to be submitted to... full text
September 10, 2013
Emory University has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle allegations that the university violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare and Medicaid for clinical trial services that were not permitted by the Medicare and Medicaid rules, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month. Providers generally are not permitted to bill Medicare for medical care and services for which the clinical trial sponsor has agreed to pay.  The United States and the State of Georgia alleged that... full text
September 6, 2013
Ohio-based RPM International Inc. and its subsidiary, Tremco Inc., have agreed to pay $60.9 million to resolve allegations that Tremco knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims in connection with contracts with the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.  Tremco is a manufacturer of construction products and services. The government alleged that Tremco knowingly violated its contractual obligations to provide GSA with... full text
September 4, 2013
New York-based Imagimed LLC and its former owners, William B. Wolf III and Dr. Timothy J. Greenan, and its former radiologist, Dr. Steven Winter, have agreed to pay $3.57 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to federal healthcare programs for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.  Imagimed owns and operates 15 MRI facilities under the name “Open MRI.”... full text
September 3, 2013
ATI Enterprises, a Texas-based chain of career training schools operating in the southern and western United States, has agreed to pay the U.S. government $3.7 million to resolve allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to federal student aid programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.  ATI Enterprises allegedly falsely certified compliance with federal student aid programs’ eligibility requirements and submitted... full text
August 30, 2013
Shands Healthcare, which operates a network of health care providers in Florida, including a teaching hospital and a medical center, has agreed to pay $26 million to settle allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.  Allegedly, hospitals operated by Shands Healthcare knowingly submitted inpatient claims to Medicare, Medicaid and... full text
August 28, 2013
The U.S. government has filed suit against PharMerica Corp. for violations of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act by dispensing controlled drugs without valid prescriptions and knowingly submitting or causing the submission of false claims to be submitted to the Medicare program, the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month.  The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. PharMerica is a long-term care pharmacy that... full text
August 27, 2013
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has entered judgment for more than $17 million against Dr. Ishtiaq Malik and his two companies, Ishtiaq Malik M.D., P.C. and Advanced Nuclear Diagnostics, for submitting false nuclear cardiology claims to federal and state health care programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month. The government’s allegations focused on Dr. Malik’s inappropriate claims for myocardial perfusion studies, commonly referred to as... full text
August 23, 2013
Northwestern University has agreed to pay the United States government $2.93 million to resolve allegations of cancer research grant fraud committed by a former researcher and physician at the university’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Center for Cancer in Chicago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.  Northwestern allegedly allowed one of its researchers, Dr. Charles L. Bennett, to submit false claims under research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Dr.... full text
August 22, 2013
Dubuis Health System and Southern Crescent Hospital for Specialty Care, Inc. (Southern Crescent) have agreed to pay $8 million to resolve allegations that the companies knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last month.  Dubuis Health System manages long-term acute care hospitals in multiple states, including Southern Crescent.  Southern Crescent is a long-term acute care hospital located in Riverdale, GA and... full text