Whistleblower Information Leads to Recovery of $14.1 Million via False Claims Act Cases

In April and May, the U.S. Department of Justice recovered approximately $14.1 million in three False Claims Act case settlements. Each case was initiated by whistleblowers via the legislation’s qui tam provisions, meaning those whistleblowers were eligible to receive between 15 and 30 percent of the recoveries.

Case background

There were three notable settlements included in this recovery:

• April 21: The DOJ announced Anesthesia Services Associates and its majority owners would pay more than $4 million to settle allegations of healthcare fraud. The complainant in the case alleged the defendants engaged in fraudulent behavior such as submitting false claims for unnecessary procedures or non-reimbursible testing and acupuncture.
• April 29: The DOJ announced Tungsten Heavy Powder, Inc. would may approximately $5.6 million to resolve allegations of False Claims Act violations. The company, which makes and sells tungsten products, allegedly falsely certified it sourced its materials in the United States for items that were made under contract with the Israeli government funded by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agreement Agency.
• May 3: The DOJ announced a settlement with Doctor Wilson Asfora and two medical device companies he owns to resolve False Claims Act violations. The defendants agreed to pay $4.4 million to resolve claims that they engaged in kickback cschemes over the course of a decade, enriching Asfora in the process.

These are just a few examples of cases in which whistleblowers provided unique information that led to ensuing False Claims Act cases taken up by the government, and then led to successful enforcement actions.

For more information about the steps you can take to bring whistleblower claims under the False Claims Act, contact an experienced attorney at Kardell Law Group.