Category: Federal False Claims Act
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has recovered over $3 billion in settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act in 2011. Of that $3 billion, $2.8 billion was recovered under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. This is the second year in a row that the DOJ has recovered more than $3 billion under the Act and it has now collected more than $8.7 billion under the Act since January 2009.
SEC Chair Mary Schapiro advised Dodd-Frank sponsor, Barney Frank, that the new SEC whistleblower program is yielding results and that no changes should be made to the program without further study of its effects. In a letter to Frank, Schapiro contended that the SEC whistleblower program is providing “significant benefits.
On December 8, 2011, the U.S. Tax Court held that a whistleblower filing under 7623(b) of the IRS whistleblower provisions was entitled to remain anonymous in the case record to protect against retaliation and professional ostracism. In the landmark decision of Whistleblower 14106-10W v. Commissioner, 137 T.C. No. 15 (T.C.
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, a charitable organization operating as Diakon Hospice St. John (Diakon), agreed to pay the U.S. $10.56 million to settle allegations that it submitted claims for Medicare reimbursement for ineligible hospice patients from October 1, 2004 to October 1, 2010. Diakon, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America,
KV Pharmaceutical Company, the St. Louis parent corporation of the now defunct Ethex Corporation, has agreed to pay $17 million to the federal and state governments to resolve allegations that Ethex fraudulently received reimbursement for two of its drugs from federal healthcare programs. According to allegations made by relator Constance Conrad in U.S.
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. Merck not only withheld data showing that Vioxx increased patient’s risks of heart attack and stroke,
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. GlaxoSmithKline contends that as a result of claims such as these,
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.pdf
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. The government alleged that DFine paid $500 to a physician who provided product information,
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.
