Two healthcare companies, CRH Healthcare, LLC and Peachtree Immediate Care FP, LLC, have agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle accusations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations. In turn, multiple unnamed whistleblowers will receive $320,000 for their contributions and cooperation.

Case background

CRH and Peachtree were accused of submitting improperly upcoded Evaluation and Management claims to Medicare. The claims were for testing and treating patients who had been exposed to COVID-19 during the pandemic. These fraud allegations were investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The investigation proceeded with the cooperation of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which “bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes.”

The claims were brought under the qui tam provisions of the FCA. Under these whistleblower provisions, private citizens can file a lawsuit against entities for violations of the FCA. The FCA allows the government to recover treble damages and civil penalties for claims of waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs like Medicare.

In turn, eligible whistleblowers may share in the any recovery the government gains—in this case, $320,000 to be shared among multiple unnamed whistleblowers.

If you’ve observed fraud or other wrongdoing at your place of employment, you may be eligible to file a whistleblower claim and share in government recovery. For more information, contact a seasoned whistleblower attorney at Kardell Law Group.