Thursday, August 27, 2009

The National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units Announces a $12.4 Million Dollar Settlement

A $12.4 million national Medicaid civil settlement with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest) and its former subsidiary Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID), resolves claims regarding the accuracy of various NID diagnostic tests manufactured, marketed and sold to laboratories during 2000-2006. These were then used to perform testing which the Medicaid Programs paid for.

The federal and state cases stemmed from a qui tam or whistleblower lawsuit which alleged that certain test kits manufactured by NID and used by laboratories to measure parathyroid levels in blood samples, produced an unacceptable level of elevated results. The test kits at issue were disproportionately billed to Medicare, meaning the payments by State Medicaid Programs for these tests were limited.

Click here to read the full article The National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units Announces a $12.4 Million Dollar Settlement with Quest Diagnostics

Monday, August 17, 2009

Boeing Company to Pay U.S. $25 Million in Qui Tam Lawsuit

The Boeing Company will pay the United States $25 million for allegedly performing defective work on the KC-10 Extender fleet, an integral part of the Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The lawsuit, originally a qui tam or whistleblower suit, alleged that Boeing defectively installed insulation blanket kits in KC-10 aircrafts and also overcharged the government for the installation. The blanket kits are a critical component of the KC-10 Extender.

The whistleblowers, Anthony Rico and Fernando de la Garza, are former Boeing employees and will receive $2,265,000 as their share of the settlement.

The settlement will be a combination of cash payment and repair work. The settlement negotiations were conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Antonio and the Department’s Civil Division. The allegations were investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the defense Contract Audit Agency.

Click here to read the full article “Boeing Company to Pay U.S. $25 Million to Resolve Allegations Related to Defective Work on KC-10 Aerial Refueling Aircraft"

Dynamics Research Corporation to Pay the U.S. $15 Million in False Claims Lawsuit

Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC) has agreed to pay the United States $15 million plus interest in a settlement involving two former executives who engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme aimed at service contracts with the Air Force.

The United States filed a civil suit in federal court in Boston alleging the former executives steered contracts for computer equipment and services to companies owned by themselves, their family and others in exchange for kickbacks and inflated contract prices.

The contracts required DRC’s employees to certify that, “neither they nor their spouses had financial interests that would interfere with their ability to deliver unbiased advice.” Former vice presidents Paul Arguin and Victor Garber, who were the heads of the project, did not confirm this.

The suit was seeking damages and penalties under the Anti-Kickback Act and the False Claims Act in the federal district court in Boston.

The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency assisted with the investigation.

Click here to read the full article “Dynamics Research Corporation to Pay $15 Million to Resolve Allegations of Kickbacks and False Claims Related to Air Force Contracts"

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Landmark $62.5 Million Settlement Highlights Role of False Claims Act in Public Interest Litigation

A False Claims Act case brought by the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC), a registered nonprofit organization, on behalf of the United States government has resulted in an historic settlement whereby the defendant, Westchester County, New York, has agreed to spend more than $50 million to create affordable housing opportunities in designated towns and villages and to market them to racial minorities.  The lawsuit, filed by the ADC in 2006, alleged that Westchester County had defrauded the federal government when it accepted tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for housing and community development projects that the County certified were in compliance with fair housing laws.  The settlement was reached following a judicial ruling that the County had indeed misled the government about its efforts to fulfill its legal obligations to take steps toward desegregating predominantly white communities.  This qui tam case is noteworthy for several reasons, including the fact that the plaintiff-relator is not an individual whistleblower in the traditional sense, but a nonprofit organization seeking to further the public interest.

A New York Times article on the settlement is available can be found by clicking here.

Additional information may be found on the ADC’s website.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Tulare Healthcare System Pays $2.4 Million in Medicare Scam

Tulare Healthcare is expected to pay the government more than $2.4 million to settle allegations of submitting false claims to the Medicare system and illegally paying doctors for referrals.

Former Tulare Healthcare chief financial advisor, Maria Lucy Reimche, filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming the company violated anti-kickback laws and made false claims to Medicare for reimbursement for services provided to referred patients.

Tulare Healthcare is comprised of Tulare Local Healthcare District, Tulare District Healthcare Systems and Tulare District Hospital. This case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the United States Attorney’s Office.

Click here to read the full article “Tulare Health Agencies Agree to Pay Over $2.4 Million to Settle Civil Lawsuit Alleging False Medicare Claims"

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