What Happened?
Jeffrey Wertkin, a former Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP partner who previously had worked at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), received 30 months’ imprisonment for offenses related to his theft and attempted sale of a sealed government whistleblower complaint to a cyber-security company being investigated by the DOJ.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Escobar creates a new tension between CMS’s historical “pay and chase” framework and the idea that when the government continues to pay claims when it has information regarding potential fraud, the conduct involved is not material to the payment decision. Admittedly, it would be premature to commence administrative proceedings to debar providers at the inception of an investigation.
1. How far will the Supreme Court’s materiality ruling in Escobar extend?
2. Will there be any type of legislative “fix” to the Escobar ruling, and its growing progeny, being decided by scores of federal courts?
3.
What Happened?
In affirming the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Accredo Health Group, Inc., and its co-defendants, the U.S.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a District Court’s judgment on a husband and wife’s health care fraud convictions. The Appellate Court found that medical necessity was a “critical prerequisite to payment” and insurers would not have knowingly paid for medically unnecessary urine drug tests.
A recent news article in the New York Times, “The Bounty Hunter of Wall Street,” featured Andrew Left, an “activist” short seller who receives leaked documents and other intelligence about publicly-traded companies from confidential sources. Armed with this information, short sellers leak negative information to the press.
On June 9, 2017, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton (D.C.) denied a clinical laboratory defendant’s motion to dismiss a whistleblower’s False Claims Act case. The Court flatly rejected the lab’s attempt to avoid liability by arguing the doctor, not the lab, determines the medical necessity of a particular test.
In United States ex rel. Lutz v. Berkeley Heartlab, Inc., et al., 2017 WL 51691 (D.S.C. Apr. 5, 2017), the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina confirmed that the advice-of-counsel defense cannot be used as a sword and shield.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently published a decision involving the government’s ability to execute writs of attachment against real and personal property as well as writs of garnishment against banks accounts. (See BlueWave Healthcare v. United States of America.
United States ex rel. Gohil v. Aventis, Inc. is a long-running False Claims Act suit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by an ex-sales specialist against his former employer, behemoth pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Aventis.
If you are aware of any person, corporation or entity that you think may be violating the False Claims Act, securities, commodities, tax, anti-money laundering, or sanctions laws, contact us today.