Whistleblower Alleges Hospital Hid Key Emails

Though nearly everyone uses email and other forms of digital communication, maintaining an inventory of what we send and receive is often haphazard. In most cases, this just presents a minor inconvenience because we’re not immediately able to find the information that we need among our various addresses and storage mechanisms. However, there are certain lawsuits and regulatory investigations that hinge on the location and retrieval of digital data.

Dr. Akram Boutros was CEO of MetroHealth, a company that operates a series of hospitals and medical facilities in the Cleveland area. After the company’s board fired him, ostensibly for awarding himself what the board believed to be excessive bonuses, Dr. Boutros sued MetroHealth, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages. 

To support his assertion that the bonuses were warranted and approved, Dr. Boutros sought email records covering the years 2013 to 2020 from MetroHealth. The company represented that the requested communications were not available. Subsequently, a whistleblower reported that the data Dr. Boutros asked for actually could be located and produced. MetroHealth’s attorneys contend that the newly produced emails were stored in an out-of-use system and therefore unknown to the hospital at the time of earlier productions.

While no evidence has been brought forward demonstrating that MetroHealth willfully withheld the requested communications, this case shows how a diligent person can change the course of a large-scale lawsuit or investigation. You might be someone working in a medical office that is facing a review for potential Medicare fraud. If you become aware of the fact that your employer is hiding key documents, whether physical or electronic, a whistleblower report could be warranted.

A whistleblower might be able to file a qui tam claim. These cases enable individual “relators” to act on the government’s behalf to root out various types of fraud, including the intentional concealment of relevant documents. When a qui tam case is successful and the government obtains payment from the wrongdoer through a judgment or settlement, the relator can be awarded a share of the recovery, usually between 15 and 30 percent. 

Kardell Law Group handles a full range of qui tam claims and other whistleblower matters. Our firm is determined to maximize the likelihood of payment for our clients and to protect them against unlawful retaliation. Please call or contact us online if you are aware of misconduct that might justify a whistleblower action.