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.
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.
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.
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.
An article authored by Marc S. Raspanti, Esquire and Bryan S. Neft, Esquire and published in The Legal Intelligencer, November 1, 2011.
To read the article see: https://www.falseclaimsact.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/20111101093225001.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.