Whistleblower Attorneys Blog
Pharmaceutical company Elan Corporation recently announced an agreement with the DOJ to pay $203.5 million to settle Medicaid fraud claims involving its previously divested antiepileptic drug, Zonegran. As a result of the agreement, Elan pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA) and plans to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Continue reading ›
DOJ Turns up HEAT on Medicare Fraud: 94 People Charged With Submitting More than $251 Million in False Claims
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it has charged 94 doctors, healthcare company owners, and executives with submitting more than $251 million in false claims to Medicare. The arrests spread across five different states in areas the federal government has deemed fraud hotspots. It was the largest federal crackdown on Medicare fraud since Medicare Fraud Strike Force activity began.
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Medical Services Company Accused of Billing Medicare for Unperformed Services
An Orange County, CA based heart-monitoring services company has agreed to pay the U.S. government $3.6 million to settle allegations that the company overbilled Medicare from 1998-2004. The complaint was first filed in 2004 against National Cardio Labs LLC, its manager Adrienne Stanman, and her husband Robert Parsons.
Specifically, the government accused National Cardio Labs of violating the False Claims Act by billing for services not actually rendered to patients, services it had already been paid for, and services which it could not perform. Continue reading ›
Court Allows Derivative Shareholder Suit Against Pfizer to Move Forward
A federal district court judge has denied Pfizer’s motion to dismiss a derivative shareholder suit against the company which alleges that directors and executives at Pfizer are liable for actions that led to a historic $2.3 billion settlement with the U.S. government in 2009. Pfizer entered into this enormous settlement to resolve allegations under the federal False Claims Act and Anti-kickback Statute for alleged “off-label promotion” of various drugs, including Bextra and Celebrex. Continue reading ›
Dangerous, Unnecessary Surgeries Lead to False Claims Complaint
The United States has charged Dr. Nijam Azmat and the Satilla Regional Medical Center of Waycross, Georgia with violating the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for services that were of no medical value to federal health program patients. The government alleges that Dr. Azmat and the medical center performed, and sought reimbursement for, services to Medicare patients that were not medically necessary, had no medical value, or even endangered the lives of patients.
Satilla enlisted the services of Dr. Azmat in 2005, and the doctor began performing endovascular procedures – highly specialized procedures that require formal training. However, Dr. Azmat allegedly was never qualified or even competent to perform these procedures. Continue reading ›
Government Joins Case Against Oracle Alleging Overpayment for Software
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to intervene in a False Claims Act case against Oracle Corporation, a software manufacturer that had a contract with the General Service Administration (GSA). The federal government alleges Oracle defrauded the government into overpaying it hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of an eight year contract, from 1998 to 2006.
Contracts with the GSA require the company to disclose its best commercial price and discounts, allowing the government to make an informed decision about prices it then negotiates. Continue reading ›
Whistleblowers Allege Failure to Supervise Surgeries at Rush University Medical Center
Two whistleblowers first filed a False Claims Act case against Rush University Medical Center in 2004. While the lawsuit included allegations of many different types of fraud, the United States only intervened with respect to violations of the Stark Law (Rush was accused of entering into improper relationships with physicians). Rush settled the False Claims Act claims related to the Stark Law for $1.5 million, with the whistleblowers receiving $270,760.
While the government was content to accept a settlement for the Stark Law violations, the whistleblowers still want Rush held accountable for other types of fraud they contend Rush committed on the government. Continue reading ›
U.S. Requests Authority to Exclude Pharmaceutical Executives from Medicare
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is asking Congress for the power to boot executives convicted of Medicare fraud from federal health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. These booted executives will struggle to find new employment in the industry, considering the U.S. government is the largest prescription drug customer in the world. Specifically, HHS wants the authority to kick out anyone “who was in a position to have stopped the fraud that led to a criminal conviction or plea.”
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