January 12, 2015
Mortgage Fraud
Under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, individual private plaintiffs – who are often in a better position to report and relay the details of fraud against the government – can receive rewards of up to 30 percent of the total settlement or verdict obtained on behalf of U.S. […]
January 9, 2015
Healthcare Fraud
A subsidiary of the Stryker Corporation has agreed to pay $80 million after pleading guilty to marketing and selling certain knee replacement products without government approval. The OtisMed group, which manufacturers “cutting guides” used to achieve a perfect incision and implantation during knee replacements, has refused to admit any sort […]
January 8, 2015
Grant Fraud
Federal grant money often comes with highly-specific conditions and requirements, including the promise to only spend the money on certain expenses related to a research or development project. Failure to adhere to the terms of a grant award will likely trigger possible liability under the False Claims Act, provided the […]
January 7, 2015
Military Contractor Fraud
In another military fraud case, Swiss-based Supreme Foodservice has agreed to pay a total of $434 million to the United States following allegations of fraud under the False Claims Act. The lawsuit was commenced after several employees raised concerns over the ownership structure of Supreme Foodservice, alleging it was using […]
January 2, 2015
Healthcare Fraud
As we discussed in yesterday’s post, fiscal year 2014 was a historic one for the Department of Justice and the False Claims Act. With an overall recovery topping $5 billion – most of which is attributed to healthcare and mortgage fraud – the top ten healthcare fraud settlements involve astronomical […]
January 1, 2015
Healthcare Fraud
Fiscal year 2014 has been a historic one for the False Claims Act. According to a recent announcement by the Department of Justice, this past year has seen the recovery of more taxpayer dollars than any other year – with over $2 billion recovered from healthcare fraud alone. Bank and […]
December 31, 2014
Healthcare Fraud
Healthcare fraud is one of the top areas targeted by federal and state officials under the False Claims Act, and it continues to increase each year – resulting in billions of dollars in recovery. However, for some defendants, liability does not stop with the False Claims Act. As today’s case […]
December 30, 2014
Healthcare Fraud
Medicare and Medicaid set highly strict guidelines with regard to patient care. Patients are required to be under a specific care plan at all times, and caretakers must maintain certain threshold levels of competence and licensure in order to treat patients. Any deviation from state or federal guidelines could immediately […]
December 29, 2014
Contractor Fraud
In an interesting case at the intersection of healthcare and contractor fraud, Anchorage, Alaska-based Eyak Corporation has agreed to settle claims of false charges and illegal kickbacks occurring under a lucrative government contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Accordingly, Eyak Technology and its affiliate Eyak Services LLC have […]
December 26, 2014
Contractor Fraud
2014 was a bad year for Trinity Industries. As you may recall, the once-prominent guardrail manufacturer has been facing one lawsuit after another – with claims of fraud and concealment being filed in courts across the United States. Earlier this year, we posted a series of articles detailing the False Claims […]
December 25, 2014
Medicaid Fraud
On November 12, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed an earlier dismissal by a U.S. District Court in Wisconsin regarding allegations of unlawful billing practices between a retail pharmacy and Medicaid. More specifically, the relator alleged that the pharmacy improperly inflated the costs of certain […]
December 24, 2014
Healthcare Fraud
It is not uncommon for retailers and pharmacies to offer generous discounts or incentives for customers to switch their prescriptions and loyalties to the new company. However, as is becoming increasingly apparent across the United States, offering incentives to induce Medicare and Medicaid patients to switch their prescriptions can trigger […]