The United States Department of Justice announced that Harborside Healthcare and HHC Nutrition Services will pay the United States $1.375 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that the company received kickback and assistance under the guise of sham durable medical equipment (DME) provider. The government alleged that McKesson Corp.
On October 8, 2009, the Pennsylvania Senate introduced a bill that would enact a Pennsylvania False Claims Act. Senate Bill 1113 would enable the Commonwealth to collect treble damages and a civil penalty of $5,000 to $10,000 per claim from anyone who submits, or causes another to submit, a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by South Carolina claiming the company improperly marketed its antipsychotic Zyprexa, averting a trial in which the state planned to seek $6 billion. South Carolina sought reimbursement for the costs of Zyprexa prescriptions and alleged Zyprexa-related illnesses. The state claimed Lilly pushed doctors to prescribe the medication and withheld information about Zyprexa’s side effects such as weight gain.
As of October 1, 2009, 25 States have enacted their own State False Claims Acts. Most of the State False Claims Acts are modeled after the federal False Claims Act, and provide that qui tam whistleblowers can bring claims on behalf of the state.
The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently issued a report finding widespread problems with the quality of audits conducted by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”). The DCAA under the Department of Defense (DOD) Comptroller plays a critical role in defense contractor oversight by providing auditing, accounting, and financial advisory services in connection with DOD and other federal agency contracts and subcontracts.
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently reported an increase in the number of whistleblower complaints it has received under the new IRS Whistleblower Law that was enacted in 2006. The IRS Whistleblower Law enables private individuals to report: (1) underpayments of tax; and (2) persons otherwise guilty of violating the internal revenue laws.
The United States Government has established a new website that allows citizens to track stimulus spending under the Recovery Act. This interactive website allows stimulus spending to be tracked by state and/or zip code.
On Jan. 7, 2008, the New Jersey Legislature joined then 20 other states and the District of Columbia in passing its version of a civil false claims act. The New Jersey False Claims Act, which is modeled on the Federal False Claims Act, allows whistleblowers (often referred to as “Qui Tam Relators”) to blow-the-whistle on those businesses and individuals who submit false or fraudulent claims to the State of New Jersey.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has agreed to pay the government $8.3 Million to settle allegations that it illegally paid kickbacks to cardiologists and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice.
Welcome to the False Claims Act – Whistleblowers Blog. The Federal and State Governments spend trillions of dollars each year to fund a wide variety of programs and to purchase vast amounts of goods and services.
