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 […]
December 23, 2014
Contractor Fraud
In a major victory for California taxpayers, office supply giant Office Depot has agreed to pay $80 million to settle claims it unlawfully defrauded several government agencies out of money under contracts for the provision of supplies. The settlement comes on the heels of a settlement with the state of […]
December 22, 2014
Military Contractor Fraud
Whenever a private company or individual agrees to perform contract work for the federal government, there are certain highly-specific boilerplate contract terms that must be followed during the completion of the work. One such term requires contractors to always offer the government a rate on goods or services that is […]
December 19, 2014
False Claims Act Information
The False Claims Act is an integral piece of legislation designed to incentivize integrity and honesty. It is a multi-faceted approach to exposing, eliminating, and deterring fraud – with many important benefits for plaintiffs. The following explores some of the reasons why the False Claims Act is one of the […]
December 18, 2014
Healthcare Fraud
Close on the heels of the Department of Justice’s record-breaking fiscal year 2014 comes the latest Medicare fraud settlement involving Massachusetts-based North Atlanta Medical Services d/b/a Regional Home Care, Inc. The case, which was commenced by two former employees of NAMS, resulted in a settlement of $852,378. The two whistleblowers […]
December 17, 2014
Grant Fraud
The occurrence of wasteful and disheartening grant fraud has led to several recent settlements under the False Claims Act, which is triggered any time federal money is intentionally obtained through the use of fraud and misrepresentation. In today’s case, we explore the details of a grant fraud case involving Arizona’s […]
December 16, 2014
Healthcare Fraud
One of the key requirements of a False Claims Act lawsuit is that it be based on original information that has not been previously disclosed via litigation, a government investigation, or through the news media. As such, it is not uncommon for defendants facing False Claims Act liability to initially […]
December 15, 2014
False Claims Act Legal News
In a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, a record $5.69 billion was recovered under the False Claims Act in fiscal year 2014. This is the highest amount ever recorded and includes all settlements and verdicts across all industries. The vast majority of these recoveries involved financial or healthcare […]
December 12, 2014
Healthcare Fraud
In November 2014, a New York City physician – known infamously for asking Beatles member George Harrison to sign a guitar on his deathbed – agreed to settle a Medicare fraud lawsuit. Dr. Gil Lederman, who agreed to pay $2.35 million to settle the False Claims Act allegations, has categorized […]
December 10, 2014
Rule 9(b)
As we have reported in a previous post, Florida-based Health Management Associates, Inc. is facing extreme liability under the False Claims Act stemming from allegations that emergency room physicians were offered kickbacks and financial incentives for admitting a certain number of patients per day – notwithstanding the lack of medical […]
December 9, 2014
Contractor Fraud
California, along with many other states, maintains its own False Claims Act statute that closely mirrors the language of the federal version. The lengthy, comprehensive, statute allows private individuals to file claims under the Act if that person has original knowledge of the submission of a false claim to any […]