by Author | Feb 11, 2014 | False Claims Act
False Claims Act Healthcare Fraud Settlement: A chain of opiate addiction recovery centers, headquartered in Harrodsburg, Ky., and a Russell Springs, Ky., clinical laboratory, along with two physician owners, agreed to pay the U.S. Government $15.75 million to resolve False Claims Act civil allegations that they fraudulently billed federal health care programs (Medicare and Medicaid ) for medically unnecessary and excessive urine tests.
Read more: http://www.justice.gov/usao/kye/news/2014/2014-02-10-premiertox.html
by Author | Feb 10, 2014 | False Claims Act
FCA News: The U.S. Justice Department announced that it secured $4.9 billion in False Claims Act recoveries in civil cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012, according to Tony West, Acting Associate Attorney General, and Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. DOJ noted that this figure constitutes a record recovery for a single year, eclipsing the previous record by more than $1.7 billion, and brings total recoveries under the False Claims Act since January 2009 to $13.3 billion – which is the largest four-year total in the Justice Department’s history and more than a third of total recoveries since the act was amended 26 years ago in 1986.
Read more here
by Author | Feb 10, 2014 | False Claims Act
Legal Ruling: The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals holds that: the South Florida Water Management District was an arm of the State of Florida under the Eleventh Amendment immunity analysis and therefore is not a “person” for purposes of False Claims Act Definitions, 31 U.S.C.S. § 3729. This False Claims Act qui tam lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Lesinski v. South Florida Water Management District, No. 12-16082, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14 (11th Cir. January 2, 2014).
by Author | Feb 10, 2014 | False Claims Act
Legal Ruling: In a case alleging that shipper DHL charged the Government for jet fuel surcharges on ground deliveries, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the relator’s failure to comply with a 180-day notice rule for administrative actions before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) did not bar a shipping-rate challenge before a federal court when brought pursuant to the False Claims Act. The district court had concluded that it did and dismissed the action. Without deciding how the 180-day rule applies to other kinds of suits brought in court, the Second Circuit vacated on the ground that the 180-day rule cannot apply to a qui tam action under the FCA.
This False Claims Act lawsuit is captioned United States v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2164 (2d Cir. N.Y. Feb. 5, 2014).
by Author | Feb 10, 2014 | False Claims Act
False Claims Act Legal Ruling: Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) requires a relator to provide some representative examples of defendant’s fraudulent conduct, specifying the time, place, and content of their acts and the identity of the actors, and affirming dismissal of complaint for failing to identify even one example of an actual false claim submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for reimbursement. This False Claims Act lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Dunn v. North Mem’l Health Care, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 413 (8th Cir. Minn. 2014).
by Author | Feb 10, 2014 | False Claims Act
Settlement Announced: $30 million Healthcare Fraud (Nursing Home Kickbacks) settlement. Contract therapy providers RehabCare Group Inc., RehabCare Group East Inc. and Rehab Systems of Missouri and management company Health Systems Inc. have agreed to pay $30 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a kickback scheme related to the referral of nursing home business, the Justice Department announced January 17, 2014. Additionally, as part of this settlement, the entities have agreed to restructure their business arrangement. Read more here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/January/14-civ-060.html
by Author | Feb 8, 2014 | False Claims Act
Settlement Announced: $614 million Mortgage (HUD/HFA/VA) Fraud
The Department of Justice today announced that JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) will pay $614 million for violating the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting non-compliant mortgage loans submitted for insurance coverage and guarantees by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Legal Ruling: Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b) requires a relator to provide some representative examples of defendant’s fraudulent conduct, specifying the time, place, and content of their acts and the identity of the actors, and affirming dismissal of complaint for failing to identify even one example of an actual false claim submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for reimbursement. The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Dunn v. North Mem’l Health Care, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 413 (8th Cir. Minn. 2014).
Read more:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/February/14-civ-120.html
by Author | Feb 8, 2014 | False Claims Act
News Item: A record $851 million was recovered from Medicaid providers due to abuse, fraud, and waste in 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday, February 3. Read more here: http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/02032014-medicaid-recoveries.
Legal Ruling: In a case alleging that shipper DHL charged the Government for jet fuel surcharges on ground deliveries, the court held that the relator’s failure to comply with a 180-day notice rule for administrative actions before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) did not bar a shipping-rate challenge before a federal court when brought pursuant to the FCA. The district court had concluded that it did and dismissed the action. Without deciding how the 180-day rule applies to other kinds of suits brought in court, the Second Circuit vacated on the ground that the 180-day rule cannot apply to a qui tam action under the FCA. The lawsuit is captioned United States v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2164 (2d Cir. N.Y. Feb. 5, 2014).
by Author | Jan 28, 2014 | Qui Tam
Settlement Announced: $320 Million Mortgage Fraud (HUD backed home loans). Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation and Home America Mortgage, Inc. agreed to pay $320 million to settle a False Claims Act whistleblower case which alleged that the defendants had falsified loan applications, created false documentation, and misrepresented qualifications of applicants in order to secure federally-funded insurance for home loans that ultimately defaulted. The case is captioned: United States ex rel. Friddle and Kennedy v. Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation et al., Civil Action No. 06-cv-3023-JEC (N.D. Ga.).
by Author | Jan 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
Settlement Announced: $40 Million Healthcare Fraud (Kickbacks and Off-label Marketing). CareFusion Corp. has agreed to pay the U.S. government $40.1 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks and promoting its pharmaceutical products for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Justice Department announced today. CareFusion, a California-based medical technology company, develops, manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products, including products sold under the trade name ChloraPrep. The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Kirk v. CareFusion et al., No. 10-2492 (D. Kan.)
Read more here:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/January/14-civ-021.html
