GE Healthcare, a major, international provider of pharmaceuticals and technology, agreed to pay $30 million to the U.S. to settle allegations that it improperly billed Medicare for its radiopharmaceutical drug Myoview. The settlement arose from a qui tam suit filed under the False Claims Act by James Wagel,
Merck & Co, Inc., the second largest drug manufacturer in the nation, agreed to pay $24 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to settle allegations that it knowingly reported inflated drug prices to the Massachusetts Medicaid program. The $24 million settlement is the largest single payment made to the Commonwealth for any one Medicaid fraud case in the state’s history,
The Department of Justice announced that Kaman Precision Products, Inc., an Orlando-based defense contractor, will pay $4.75 million to the U.S. to settle allegations that it sold non-conforming fuzes to be used in “bunkerbombs” to the U.S. Army. The settlement arose from a False Claims Act suit filed by the U.S.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has recovered over $3 billion in settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act in 2011. Of that $3 billion, $2.8 billion was recovered under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. This is the second year in a row that the DOJ has recovered more than $3 billion under the Act and it has now collected more than $8.7 billion under the Act since January 2009.
SEC Chair Mary Schapiro advised Dodd-Frank sponsor, Barney Frank, that the new SEC whistleblower program is yielding results and that no changes should be made to the program without further study of its effects. In a letter to Frank, Schapiro contended that the SEC whistleblower program is providing “significant benefits.
On December 8, 2011, the U.S. Tax Court held that a whistleblower filing under 7623(b) of the IRS whistleblower provisions was entitled to remain anonymous in the case record to protect against retaliation and professional ostracism. In the landmark decision of Whistleblower 14106-10W v. Commissioner, 137 T.C. No. 15 (T.C.
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, a charitable organization operating as Diakon Hospice St. John (Diakon), agreed to pay the U.S. $10.56 million to settle allegations that it submitted claims for Medicare reimbursement for ineligible hospice patients from October 1, 2004 to October 1, 2010. Diakon, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America,
KV Pharmaceutical Company, the St. Louis parent corporation of the now defunct Ethex Corporation, has agreed to pay $17 million to the federal and state governments to resolve allegations that Ethex fraudulently received reimbursement for two of its drugs from federal healthcare programs. According to allegations made by relator Constance Conrad in U.S.
In an excellent op-ed piece written for the Lehigh Valley’s Morning Call, David Williams of Kline & Specter describes why Pennsylvania needs a False Claims Act to combat fraud against the state. Citing a 2005 study by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, Williams notes that fraudulent activities have consumed more than ten percent of Pennsylvania’s healthcare costs.
Merck has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor criminal charge and pay $950 million to the federal and state governments to resolve allegations that it illegally marketed its painkiller drug Vioxx for off-label use and made false statements about the drug’s cardiovascular risks. Merck not only withheld data showing that Vioxx increased patient’s risks of heart attack and stroke,
If you are aware of any person, corporation or entity that you think may be violating the Federal False Claims Act or a State False Claims Act, contact us today.