The University of Phoenix has agreed to pay $67.5 million to the United States to resolve allegations that its student recruitment policies violated the False Claims Act. Two former University of Phoenix employees alleged that the University accepted federal student financial aid in violation of statutory and regulatory provisions that prohibit post-secondary schools from paying admissions counselors certain forms of incentive based compensation tied to the number of students recruited.
The Visiting Physicians Association (“VPA”), which provides home health services in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and Wisconsin, will pay the United States and the state of Michigan $9.5 million to settle allegations that the VPA violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare, TRICARE and the Michigan Medicaid program.
The Department of Justice announced that Spectranetics Corporation, a medical device manufacturer, has agreed to pay the United States $4.9 million in civil damages plus a $100,000.00 forfeiture to resolve various claims against the company. Spectranetics sells certain types of medical lasers and peripheral devices for those lasers.
Wheaton Community Hospital, the City of Wheaton (MN), and Dr. Stanley Gallagher have agreed to pay the United States $846,461.00 to settle allegations that their hospital admission practices violated the False Claims Act. In particular, the suit against Wheaton Community Hospital, the City, and Dr. Gallagher alleged that they admitted some patients and kept others admitted to acute care when doing so was not medically necessary.
Genesys Health System, a Michigan-based health care service provider, has agreed to pay the United States $669,413.00 to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare. Specifically, a whistleblower’s qui tam suit alleged that from 2001 through 2007, Genesys repeatedly billed Medicare for higher levels of service than were actually provided to the company’s cardiology patients.
On December 11, 2009, the United States House of Representatives approved The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173). The legislation is aimed at reforming the financial services industry in the wake of the recent economic crisis. Significantly, the legislation contains a whistleblower incentive program.
An orthopaedic sports medicine clinic in Los Angeles, California, has agreed to pay $3 million to the United States government to settle allegations that it received illegal kickbacks from HealthSouth Corporation.
A state whistleblower claim brought under California’s False Claims Act settled for $39 million last month, bringing to almost $60 million the total recovery that California water districts and municipalities, including the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, have recovered because of excessive lead levels in water valves and fittings manufactured by James Jones Company LLC.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on November 19 finding that contractors falsely claiming to be run by disabled military veterans have defrauded the government of at least $100 million since 2003. Congress established goals for the distribution of a certain portion of federal contracts to small businesses that are owned and operated by vets injured in the course of active duty.
Earlier this week, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had secured $2.4 billion in settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009.
