Author: Qui Tam

Medical Providers Support New CMS Administrator

Marilyn Tavenner, the new administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has drawn the support of major medical organizations including the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Hospital Association (AHA), America’s Health Insurance Providers (AHIP), and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Tavenner was nominated by President Obama to be administrator of CMS after the resignation of Dr.

Big Apple Settles False Claims for $70 million

New York City has agreed to pay the federal government $70 million to settle claims that it allegedly overbilled Medicaid by improperly approving home care for elderly clients.  As part of the settlement, NYC admitted that it reauthorized treatment of a number of patients without having first obtained required assessments from doctors,

GlaxoSmithKline Pays $3 billion to Settle Unfair Practices regarding the Sale of Avandia

GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s largest drug manufacturers, settled a number of claims resulting from government investigations including one tied to the sale of diabetes drug, Avandia, which has been associated with increased heart risks, and one related to off-label marketing of other drug products. GlaxoSmithKline contends that as a result of claims such as these,

California Device Manufacturer Settles Anti-Kickback Claims

DFine, a California provider of vertebral augmentation devices, agreed to resolve Justice Department allegations of false claims for $2.9 million.  The government charged DFine with using customer surveys as vehicles to pay participating physicians kickbacks to induce them to use DFine devices.  The government alleged that DFine paid $500 to a physician who provided product information,

Georgia-based Diagnostic Imaging Provider Hit for $11 million in damages and penalties for FCA violations

A judgment was entered against Medquest Associates for over $11 million in a false claims act lawsuit pending in Tennessee.  The judgment included $713,000 in treble damages and nearly $9 million in civil penalties.  The case against Medquest was based upon its practice at certain locations of submitting test results by physicians who were neither Medicare-approved nor qualified to certify the testing.  

FIRREA Provides Another Outlet for Whistleblowers

The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 has a little known provision that allows a whistleblower to report instances of bank and financial institution fraud.  The law allows private individuals to submit confidential claims to the Department of Justice.  The department can then investigate and use its enforcement powers to recover penalties or damages,

Citigroup Agrees to Pay $285 million to settle SEC Enforcement Action on Mortgage-Related Securities but the Judge is Unhappy

Citigroup agreed to resolve securities fraud charges in relation to its sale of mortgage-backed securities for a whopping payment of $285 million.  Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase & Co. settled similar claims with the SEC last year.   At the time of sale, those securities produced $126 million in profit for Citigroup’s brokerage subsidiary and $34 million in fees. 

Ding-Dong, the SEC is investigating the Avon Lady

Ding-Dong, the SEC is investigating the Avon Lady

Avon Products, Inc., the legendary maker of women’s cosmetics sold door-to-door, announced that the SEC is investigating whether the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits companies from bribing foreign public officials.  The bribery investigation began in 2008 and,

SEC charges Denver Hedge Fund Managers with Insider Trading

The SEC recently charged a Denver hedge fund manager with insider trading of Mariner Energy, Inc.   The complaint alleges that Mariner Energy board member H. Clayton Peterson gave his son, Drew, confidential information about an upcoming acquisition of Mariner.  The complaint alleges that Drew Peterson used the information to purchase Mariner stock for himself and others and passed along the information to friends to use. 

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