A subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent, Lucent Technologies World Services Inc. (“LTWSI”), has agreed to a $4.2 million settlement to resolve all allegations brought in a False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit against the company. Alcatel Lucent is a French global telecommunications equipment corporation, and LTWSI contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense…
CMAI Industries LLC (“CMAI”), an importer in Michigan, has agreed to pay $6.3 million in fines and plead guilty to federal criminal charges to resolve allegations the company pocketed customs duties owed on imported automotive components. CMAI is a Chinese-owned logistics and warehousing firm that imports parts for distribution to the…
The office of New York State’s Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, has announced a $13.4 million settlement with New York Downtown Hospital to resolve all claims against the hospital related to an alleged illegal scheme to defraud the state’s Medicaid program. The AG’s Office alleged that the hospital entered in an…
Faced with allegations brought by the South Carolina Attorney General claiming that its drug Seroquel causes harmful side-effects and was promoted for off-label uses, AstraZeneca has abandoned a lawsuit against the South Carolina AG, agreeing instead to pay $26 million to resolve all of the state’s claims related to Seroquel.…
After discovering erroneous billing practices for ambulance services, Maury Regional Hospital (“MRH”), located in Columbia, TN, made a voluntary self-disclosure to federal investigators. The hospital’s self-disclosure led to a swift resolution of allegations that the false claims for payment for ambulance services violated the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). MRH…
The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered T-Mobile USA, the Washington-based cellphone company, to pay more than $345,000 to a whistleblower who raised concerns that international business customers were being fraudulently charged for roaming outside of the network. Although the Labor Department has not specified the exact amount by which…
In a decision released on August 6, 2012 in the case of United States of America v. BNP Paribas SA; BNP Paribas AMERICA; BNP Paribas Houston Agency; and Jovenal Miranda Cruz, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division allowed the government’s lawsuit alleging banking fraud under the False…
Lawsuits brought in qui tam actions under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), as well as other government investigations, will lead to an estimated $8 billion this year alone in recoveries this year to resolve allegations of fraud against the government. The staggering amount, more than double the total from last…
In a decision handed down on July 26, 2012 in WEC Carolina Energy Solutions, LLC v. Miller, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), a federal law which primarily consists of criminal penalties directed at computer hackers, does not apply…
The for-profit college is industry has come under heavy scrutiny in recent years, resulting in litigation under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) and investigations into the recruiter payment schemes of for-profit higher educational institutions. Recently, a federal district court judge in Pittsburgh allowed an FCA whistleblower lawsuit against Education…