Accela Medical LLC, Coventry Diagnostics LLC and Western Slope Laboratory LLC, three Troy laboratory companies, were fined $6 million to resolve False Claims Act violations against the government. Accela was improperly billing for urine drug testing and Coventry and Western Slope were performing the tests. The scheme was set up by Thomas McCormick of Troy and Charles Reinhardt of Accela.
Orthofix International, a global medical device company, has issued a statement regarding its substantial progress in the resolution of several U.S. Government legal matters. The statement discussed the company’s improvements to its compliance practices, personnel, financial standings, and a stronger focus on the Company’s operations, including investments in R&D.
Between 2000 and 2008, fourteen hospitals located in New York, Mississippi, North Carolina, Washington, Indiana, Missouri and Florida were overcharging Medicare when performing kyphoplasty, a procedure that is used to treat certain spinal fractures. The hospitals agreed to pay the government over $12 million to settle the allegations.
TriWest Healthcare Alliance, one of the Pentagon’s major health care contractors, was fined $10M for claims the company defrauded the government by failing to pass on savings to the military. TriWest Healthcare Alliance is one of three main contractors for Tricare, the Pentagon’s health program. Four former TriWest employees filed the claim stating that TriWest “systematically defrauded” TriCare by keeping savings it brought in while working on the contract.
Influential in Securing House passage of the False Claims Act Amendments of 1986, Representative Howard Berman joins in the commemoration of its 25th anniversary. Since the False Claims Act was amended, the government has recovered over $30 billion in settlements and judgments in civil cases involving fraud against the government.
In January 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission appointed Vincente Martinez, a long-time enforcement officer at the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the head of the CFTC Whistleblower Office. The whistleblower office was established after the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, and provides the CFTC with a mechanism to chase fraudulent activities in violation of the Commodities Exchange Act.
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the most recent statistics indicating the overwhelming success of the U.S. False Claims Act. Initially signed into law during the U.S. Civil War to address fraudulent government contractors, the False Claims Act has been strengthened over the years, most notably in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan.
On January 17, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Jane A. Norberg, as the Deputy Chief of the Office of the Whistleblower, responsible for oversight of the agency’s whistleblower program. The Office of the Whistleblower ensures that whistleblower complaints are handled appropriately and makes recommendations to the SEC regarding whether an individual is eligible for an award.
Philadelphia, Friday, January 20, 2012: United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Zane David Memeger and the United States Department of Justice announced today that The Boeing Company, the largest manufacturer of commercial jets and military aircraft combined, has agreed to pay $4,392,779.74 to settle a Federal False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit brought by current Boeing employee Vincent A.
Taxpayers Against Fraud foresees more than $9 billion in False Claims Act recoveries, “…counting civil, state and criminal fines – is within the realm of possible for FY 2012,” stated Patrick Burns of TAF. The cases settled or lined up for settlement included: Merck ($950 million); GlaxoSmithKline ($3 billion); Abbott ($1.
