By Steve Kardell | Published June 21, 2022 | Posted in Fraud | Tagged Tags: False Claims Act, False Claims Act lawsuits, healthcare fraud |
The U.S. Department of Justice recently revealed that 2021 was a major year for False Claims Act settlements and judgments. According to the DOJ, the federal government took in more than $5.6 billion in settlements and judgments, the largest since 2014 and the second-largest amount ever recorded. This number includes the gigantic $2.8 billion Purdue Read More
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a $3.8 million settlement with Catholic Medical Center (CMC) to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by providing free call coverage to a cardiologist in exchange for patient referrals. Government attorneys said these actions violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. Case background The federal government alleged CMC Read More
Read MoreGeorgia Cancer Specialists (GCS), one of the nation’s largest oncology specialists, will pay the federal government $8 million to resolve Medicare fraud claims involving what a judge called a “sophisticated kickback scheme.” The whistleblowers who helped initiate the case will receive the maximum 30 percent award for reporting the fraud and assisting the federal government Read More
Read MoreA doctor in Baltimore County, Maryland will spend eight months in federal prison and another with supervision upon release after he was involved with in a kickback scheme to prescribe pain medications known to be highly addictive. The illegal activity took place from 2012 to 2018. Case background The 65-year-old doctor is Howard J. Hoffberg, Read More
Read MoreBrockton Urology Clinic LLC in North Easton, Massachusetts recently agreed to pay $100,000 to settle claims it submitted false claims to Medicare in violation of federal law. The case is yet another example of healthcare fraud cases that cost the United States billions of dollars every single year. Case background According to the settlement agreement, Read More
Read MoreHayat Pharmacy, which operates 23 pharmacy locations throughout the Milwaukee metropolitan area, will pay more than $2 million to resolve allegations it submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for various prescription medications. In addition to paying $2 million to resolve the claims, the pharmacy chain will also conduct training concerning fraud, waste and abuse, Read More
Read MoreArthrex Inc., an orthopedic device company based in Florida, agreed to pay $16 million to settle claims it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) in illegally paying kickbacks to a physician so that physician would use and recommend its products. The allegations in the case were originally brought forth by a whistleblower under the FCA’s Read More
Read MoreThe Department of Justice recently announced it reached a settlement with Jae Lee, who formerly served as Chief Executive Officer of the Northwest Physicians Laboratory (NWPL). The terms of the settlement require Lee to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that NWPL violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute. Case background NWPL, which is Read More
Read MoreThe United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a department chair and the university’s physician group. The lawsuit stems from allegations made by a former UPMC physician under the False Claims Act. The DOJ investigated the claims for two years after the whistleblower alleged Read More
Read MoreBoston Scientific Corp. was ordered by a judge to pay $68,400 in fees and expenses after being sanctioned for violations in a whistleblower lawsuit surrounding allegedly defective defibrillators. The decision was handed down by U.S. Magistrate Judge Tony Leung in Minneapolis, who ruled the sanctions were a good compromise between the requested $114,000 from whistleblower Read More
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