CALL US TOLL FREE FOR HELP: 1-800-632-1404

We are attorneys that investigate False Claims Act cases nationwide, including in the state of New Jersey for Medicare fraud, tax fraud, contractor fraud and more against a range of employers including healthcare providers, medical device companies, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical companies. We stand ready to provide a free case evaluation to you; please call us today.

FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASES IN THE NEWS

As False Claims Act lawyers, we would like to report on several instances of False Claims Act lawsuits in the news in an effort to try and provide information to those in need of False Claims Act help:

$10 million settlement reached with NextCare via False Claims Act case

Modern Healthcare (7/3, Carlson, Subscription Publication) reports, “Medical clinic owner NextCare has agreed to pay $10 million and enter a five-year corporate integrity agreement to settle whistle-blower allegations that it billed federal and state healthcare programs for unneeded allergy and flu-virus testing and inflated expenses for urgent-care services.” The settlement resulted from “a False Claims Act lawsuit from former employee Lorin Cohen, who will share in $1.6 million from the settlement for bringing the allegations to light, according to a statement from the Justice Department.”

The Arizona Republic (7/3, Wiles) reports, “The settlement with the federal government and various state attorneys general involves allegations that the privately owned company submitted false claims to entities including Medicare and the Medicaid programs run by Arizona and four other states. … The claims involved inflated billing and unnecessary tests for allergies, respiratory problems and the H1N1 flu virus, the government said.”

Tennessee Hospital Settles Claim of Unnecessary Ambulance Use – $3.6 million

We are located in Tennessee, so the settlement involving Maury Regional Hospital is quite pleasing to us.  We regularly review potential false claims act cases for residents of Tennessee against hospitals, health care providers, medical device and pharmaceutical companies.  If you live in Tennessee and want to report possible false claims being filed against the state or federal governments, please call us immediately at 1-800-632-1404.

The Tennessean newspaper of Nashville, Tennesseereports that Maury Regional Medical Center has agreed to pay $3.6 million for unnecessary ambulance transportation services submitted to the government.  The medical center will pay the money after its hospital compliance program self-reported problems with ambulance transport billings as part of emergency medical services.  “Maury Regional was transparent in (its) disclosure to the government and ultimately saved the taxpayers the cost associated with a federal investigation,” said Derrick L. Jackson, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general.

Many Tennessee companies do not self report; it takes whistleblowers agreeing to disclose confidentially to the government the alleged wrongdoing.

If you would like more information on False Claims Act cases, please continue reading.

THE SCOPE OF FRAUD

Amazingly, some estimates have suggested that approximately 10% of the entire annual United States budget is lost to companies or individuals who are defrauding the government. The United States Federal budget for 2010 was $3.456 billion, meaning around $345.6 million was wrongfully wasted on fraud.

The entities defrauding the government do so in a variety of ways: Medicare or Medicaid fraud whereby they bill the government for services which they never provided or overbill for services that were provided; SEC Trading; Tax Fraud; TARP Fraud; Military/Defense contract fraud; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing;contract fraud involving any number of large government spending programs; or other types public benefit fraud.

HELPING THE PUBLIC.

As a whistleblower attorney, we are interested in speaking with persons willing to make known the truth about company practices and are willing to file a qui tam or whistleblower action. One area in particular we are interested in discussing are lawsuits involving medical device companies where the company is alleged to have overcharged, engaged in kickback programs, and the like. We will nevertheless investigate claims in a variety of areas.

Workers and persons all across the country witness actions at their work that may be unlawful or even corrupt. Unfortunately, some employees and workers feel that they will be fired, terminated, harrassed or punished if they report an unlawful or corrupt action. These reporters, however, are protected by the law as a Whistleblower and can receive compensation because of the False Claims Act or the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you have reported actions that may be fraudulent, then you should talk to a Whistleblower or qui tam lawyer about your facts.

Whistleblowers help the government to get back billions of dollars each year with the help of the False Claims Act. In fact, fraudulent Medicaid claims are also caught by whistleblowers having the Medicaid False Claims Act on their side. If you report a false claim or fraudulent action to the government, then the government will give you, the whistleblower, a part of the money that gets recovered. This is because of qui tam requirements. Qui Tam means that a person files a lawsuit for the king and also for him or herself. The phrase is qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, or, “he who sues for the king as well for himself.”

These requirements and lawsuits were made popular during the Civil War when many people were getting away with fraudulent actions against the government. In 1986, the False Claims Act was amended to raise the total compensation given to people who reported fraudulent actions, or whistleblowers. If a whistleblower works with a lawyer then it may be possible for them to get three times the amount the government would get in damages and also get additional compensation for general fines.

TYPES OF CASES

The most common situations that could form the basis of a Qui Tam action include:

• -Submitting a false or fraudulent record, bill or statement to the government in order to fraudulently obtain money such as reporting a medical service that was never performed for Medicare or Medicad;
• -Conspiring with a third party to submit or present have a false or fraudulent claim to the government;
• -Withholding property of the government with the intent to defraud or conceal the property from the government;
• -Fraudulently buying property of the government from someone not authorized to sell that property; and
• -Making a false statement to fraudulently avoid paying money to the government or to avoid delivering property to the government.

FOR HELP, PLEASE CONTACT US.

We help whistleblowers on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee charged for our work unless there is a recovery. We also front any and all expenses. No matter where you are located — we will represent you. We will come to you, you will not have to come to us.

Attorneys in our firm and attorneys that we work with on Whistleblower, Qui Tam, False Claims Act cases have represented a host of persons making claims, for violations of federal tax law, Medicare law and more.

For more information, please contact our team of whitsleblower and qui tam attorneys today at 1-800-632-1404 or fill out this form below for a free initial consultation.

CALL US TOLL FREE FOR HELP: 1-800-632-1404

We are attorneys that investigate False Claims Act cases nationwide, including in the state of New Jersey for Medicare fraud, tax fraud, contractor fraud and more against a range of employers including healthcare providers, medical device companies, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical companies. We stand ready to provide a free case evaluation to you; please call us today.

FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASES IN THE NEWS

As False Claims Act lawyers, we would like to report on several instances of False Claims Act lawsuits in the news in an effort to try and provide information to those in need of False Claims Act help:

Orthofix pays $42 million to settle fraudulent claims cases.

The AP (6/8, Lozano) reports that Orthofix Inc., “a Dallas-area medical manufacturer has agreed to pay $42 million in penalties to settle civil and criminal cases related to fraudulent claims it made to Medicare and other federal health care programs when selling bone growth stimulator devices, the Justice Department announced Thursday.” The total includes “$34.2 million to settle a whistle-blower civil lawsuit under the False Claims Act that alleged the company improperly waived patient co-payments,” and “a related criminal case” in which it “has been ordered to pay a nearly $7.8 million criminal fine.” The company “said the ‘settlement is neither an admission of liability by the company or its subsidiaries …’ and that the settlement will not affect the company’s participation in federal health care programs.”

Modern Healthcare (6/8, McKinney, Subscription Publication) reports, “According to a news release from the Justice Department, Lewisville, Texas-based Orthofix ‘paid kickbacks to physicians and their staffs in the form of ‘fitter fees,’ referral fees and other comparable fees to induce the use’ of the company’s bone growth stimulator devices.” And “Stuart Delery, head of the Justice Department’s civil division” said in a statement, “The resolution of this matter yielded a substantial recovery for taxpayers, and should deter other companies from engaging in such conduct in the future.”

CVS settles whistleblower suit alleging Medicaid fraud.

The San Francisco Examiner (6/8, Copeland) reports, “The new owners of Longs Drugs are paying $975,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing that chain of unlawfully firing an employee who alleged that the company fraudulently billed several state Medicaid programs. The settlement by CVS Caremark Co., which acquired Longs in October 2008, resolves claims made by Haroon Aziz, a former pharmacy technician.” The suit “claimed that Longs stores in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington knowingly billed Medicaid for amounts already covered by insurance companies.”

If you would like more information on False Claims Act cases, please continue reading.

THE SCOPE OF FRAUD

Amazingly, some estimates have suggested that approximately 10% of the entire annual United States budget is lost to companies or individuals who are defrauding the government. The United States Federal budget for 2010 was $3.456 billion, meaning around $345.6 million was wrongfully wasted on fraud.

The entities defrauding the government do so in a variety of ways: Medicare or Medicaid fraud whereby they bill the government for services which they never provided or overbill for services that were provided; SEC Trading; Tax Fraud; TARP Fraud; Military/Defense contract fraud; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing;contract fraud involving any number of large government spending programs; or other types public benefit fraud.

HELPING THE PUBLIC.

As a whistleblower attorney, we are interested in speaking with persons willing to make known the truth about company practices and are willing to file a qui tam or whistleblower action. One area in particular we are interested in discussing are lawsuits involving medical device companies where the company is alleged to have overcharged, engaged in kickback programs, and the like. We will nevertheless investigate claims in a variety of areas.

Workers and persons all across the country witness actions at their work that may be unlawful or even corrupt. Unfortunately, some employees and workers feel that they will be fired, terminated, harrassed or punished if they report an unlawful or corrupt action. These reporters, however, are protected by the law as a Whistleblower and can receive compensation because of the False Claims Act or the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you have reported actions that may be fraudulent, then you should talk to a Whistleblower or qui tam lawyer about your facts.

Whistleblowers help the government to get back billions of dollars each year with the help of the False Claims Act. In fact, fraudulent Medicaid claims are also caught by whistleblowers having the Medicaid False Claims Act on their side. If you report a false claim or fraudulent action to the government, then the government will give you, the whistleblower, a part of the money that gets recovered. This is because of qui tam requirements. Qui Tam means that a person files a lawsuit for the king and also for him or herself. The phrase is qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, or, “he who sues for the king as well for himself.”

These requirements and lawsuits were made popular during the Civil War when many people were getting away with fraudulent actions against the government. In 1986, the False Claims Act was amended to raise the total compensation given to people who reported fraudulent actions, or whistleblowers. If a whistleblower works with a lawyer then it may be possible for them to get three times the amount the government would get in damages and also get additional compensation for general fines.

TYPES OF CASES

The most common situations that could form the basis of a Qui Tam action include:

• -Submitting a false or fraudulent record, bill or statement to the government in order to fraudulently obtain money such as reporting a medical service that was never performed for Medicare or Medicad;
• -Conspiring with a third party to submit or present have a false or fraudulent claim to the government;
• -Withholding property of the government with the intent to defraud or conceal the property from the government;
• -Fraudulently buying property of the government from someone not authorized to sell that property; and
• -Making a false statement to fraudulently avoid paying money to the government or to avoid delivering property to the government.

FOR HELP, PLEASE CONTACT US.

We help whistleblowers on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee charged for our work unless there is a recovery. We also front any and all expenses. No matter where you are located — we will represent you. We will come to you, you will not have to come to us.

Attorneys in our firm and attorneys that we work with on Whistleblower, Qui Tam, False Claims Act cases have represented a host of persons making claims, for violations of federal tax law, Medicare law and more.

For more information, please contact our team of whitsleblower and qui tam attorneys today at 1-800-632-1404 or fill out this form below for a free initial consultation.

CALL US TOLL FREE FOR HELP: 1-800-632-1404

We are attorneys that investigate False Claims Act cases nationwide, including in the state of New Jersey for Medicare fraud, tax fraud, contractor fraud and more against a range of employers including healthcare providers, medical device companies, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical companies. We stand ready to provide a free case evaluation to you; please call us today.

FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASES IN THE NEWS

As False Claims Act lawyers, we would like to report on several instances of False Claims Act lawsuits in the news in an effort to try and provide information to those in need of False Claims Act help:

Dava Pharmaceutical, Inc. Settlement

The AP (2/9) reports that the Justice Department “says that a New Jersey-based pharmaceuticals company has agreed to pay the U.S. $11 million to settle allegations on misreporting drug prices.” The AP continues, “The government said Wednesday that Dava Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to the settlement over charges that it violated the False Claims Act by misreporting drug prices to reduce its Medicaid Drug Rebate obligations. The Justice Department says that a whistleblower will receive 15 percent of the settlement proceeds.”

US charges Texas hospital executive in Medicare scam.

The Houston Chronicle (2/9, Langford) reports, “An executive of Riverside General Hospital was arrested and charged Wednesday in a $116 million Medicare scheme involving kickbacks to patient recruiters and the owners of homes for the elderly and disabled in exchange for steering residents to Riverside’s mental health clinics.” Mohammad Khan, 63, “is identified in the indictment as an administrator ‘who managed and controlled the day-to-day operations of the hospital’s (clinics),’ where he is accused of also plying supposed patients with cigarettes, food and coupons redeemable at the hospital’s ‘country stores’ in order to entice them to therapy. According to the indictment, Khan is accused of submitting, along with unnamed co-conspirators, $116 million in mental health claims ‘purportedly provided by the hospital’ that were not medically necessary ‘and in some cases, never provided.'”

The AP (2/9) reports, “Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer says Khan submitted false claims to Medicare and paid kickbacks to patient recruiters, owners of group homes and assisted living facilities and beneficiaries to fill his hospital with patients. That was so he could bill Medicare for unnecessary services never provided.”

If you would like more information on False Claims Act cases, please continue reading.

THE SCOPE OF FRAUD

Amazingly, some estimates have suggested that approximately 10% of the entire annual United States budget is lost to companies or individuals who are defrauding the government. The United States Federal budget for 2010 was $3.456 billion, meaning around $345.6 million was wrongfully wasted on fraud.

The entities defrauding the government do so in a variety of ways: Medicare or Medicaid fraud whereby they bill the government for services which they never provided or overbill for services that were provided; SEC Trading; Tax Fraud; TARP Fraud; Military/Defense contract fraud; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing;contract fraud involving any number of large government spending programs; or other types public benefit fraud.

HELPING THE PUBLIC.

As a whistleblower attorney, we are interested in speaking with persons willing to make known the truth about company practices and are willing to file a qui tam or whistleblower action. One area in particular we are interested in discussing are lawsuits involving medical device companies where the company is alleged to have overcharged, engaged in kickback programs, and the like. We will nevertheless investigate claims in a variety of areas.

Workers and persons all across the country witness actions at their work that may be unlawful or even corrupt. Unfortunately, some employees and workers feel that they will be fired, terminated, harrassed or punished if they report an unlawful or corrupt action. These reporters, however, are protected by the law as a Whistleblower and can receive compensation because of the False Claims Act or the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you have reported actions that may be fraudulent, then you should talk to a Whistleblower or qui tam lawyer about your facts.

Whistleblowers help the government to get back billions of dollars each year with the help of the False Claims Act. In fact, fraudulent Medicaid claims are also caught by whistleblowers having the Medicaid False Claims Act on their side. If you report a false claim or fraudulent action to the government, then the government will give you, the whistleblower, a part of the money that gets recovered. This is because of qui tam requirements. Qui Tam means that a person files a lawsuit for the king and also for him or herself. The phrase is qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, or, “he who sues for the king as well for himself.”

These requirements and lawsuits were made popular during the Civil War when many people were getting away with fraudulent actions against the government. In 1986, the False Claims Act was amended to raise the total compensation given to people who reported fraudulent actions, or whistleblowers. If a whistleblower works with a lawyer then it may be possible for them to get three times the amount the government would get in damages and also get additional compensation for general fines.

TYPES OF CASES

The most common situations that could form the basis of a Qui Tam action include:

• -Submitting a false or fraudulent record, bill or statement to the government in order to fraudulently obtain money such as reporting a medical service that was never performed for Medicare or Medicad;
• -Conspiring with a third party to submit or present have a false or fraudulent claim to the government;
• -Withholding property of the government with the intent to defraud or conceal the property from the government;
• -Fraudulently buying property of the government from someone not authorized to sell that property; and
• -Making a false statement to fraudulently avoid paying money to the government or to avoid delivering property to the government.

FOR HELP, PLEASE CONTACT US.

We help whistleblowers on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee charged for our work unless there is a recovery. We also front any and all expenses. No matter where you are located — we will represent you. We will come to you, you will not have to come to us.

Attorneys in our firm and attorneys that we work with on Whistleblower, Qui Tam, False Claims Act cases have represented a host of persons making claims, for violations of federal tax law, Medicare law and more.

For more information, please contact our team of whitsleblower and qui tam attorneys today at 1-800-632-1404 or fill out this form below for a free initial consultation.

CALL US TOLL FREE FOR HELP: 1-800-632-1404

We are attorneys that investigate False Claims Act cases nationwide, including in the state of New Jersey for Medicare fraud, tax fraud, contractor fraud and more against a range of employers including healthcare providers, medical device companies, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical companies. We stand ready to provide a free case evaluation to you; please call us today.

ALABAMA QUI TAM, FALSE CLAIMS ACT AND WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT

As False Claims Act lawyers, we recently read a news story on a for-profit company that settled kickback allegations with the federal government. Specifically as to that suit, the Federal Government has intervened in a suit in Alabama:

The AP (1/4, Rawls) reports from Montgomery, AL, “The Justice Department is accusing a hospice company that operates in Alabama of submitting millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for serving patients who were not terminally ill and didn’t qualify for hospice care.” The AP continues, “The department joined in a whistleblower suit that had was filed in federal court in Birmingham by two women who worked for AseraCare Hospice. Federal officials said Tuesday that Medicare payments for hospice are intended for patients with six months or less to live, but AseraCare didn’t follow the rules in admitting patients.”

Bloomberg News (1/4, Schoenberg, Waldman) reports, “The US is seeking three times the damages and a penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 per claim. ‘Medicare benefits, including the hospice benefits, are intended only for those individuals who are appropriately qualified,’ US Attorney Joyce White Vance in Birmingham said in an e-mailed statement. ‘We must protect the public welfare and tax-funded benefits programs.'”

The Birmingham (AL) News (1/4) reports, “The company denies the claims by the former employees and government in the qui tam — or whistleblower — complaint. ‘We are disappointed by the Department of Justice’s decision to intervene in the qui tam litigation. This action is especially troubling because we believe it could constrain certain patients — most notably those who suffer from unpredictable disease — from utilizing the hospice benefit. The allegations contained in the complaint are without merit, and AseraCare operates in full compliance with the law,’ said AseraCare General Counsel David Beck.”

WTVA-TV Columbus, MS (1/4) reports, “The government contends AseraCare Hospice knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare for hospice patients who were not terminally ill. The whistleblower suit was originally filed by Dawn Richardson and Marsha Brown, former employees of AseraCare Hospice. If the United States intervenes in an action and proves that a defendant has knowingly submitted false claims, it is entitled to recover three times the damage that resulted and a penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 per claim.” Reuters (1/4) also reports this story.

If you have a situation you would like to discuss with a nationwide False Claims Act attorney, please call us today at 1-800-632-1404 or send us a confidential email byCLICKING HERE.

If you would like more information on False Claims Act cases, please continue reading.

THE SCOPE OF FRAUD

Amazingly, some estimates have suggested that approximately 10% of the entire annual United States budget is lost to companies or individuals who are defrauding the government. The United States Federal budget for 2010 was $3.456 billion, meaning around $345.6 million was wrongfully wasted on fraud.

The entities defrauding the government do so in a variety of ways: Medicare or Medicaid fraud whereby they bill the government for services which they never provided or overbill for services that were provided; SEC Trading; Tax Fraud; TARP Fraud; Military/Defense contract fraud; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing;contract fraud involving any number of large government spending programs; or other types public benefit fraud.

HELPING THE PUBLIC.

As a whistleblower attorney, we are interested in speaking with persons willing to make known the truth about company practices and are willing to file a qui tam or whistleblower action. One area in particular we are interested in discussing are lawsuits involving medical device companies where the company is alleged to have overcharged, engaged in kickback programs, and the like. We will nevertheless investigate claims in a variety of areas.

Workers and persons all across the country witness actions at their work that may be unlawful or even corrupt. Unfortunately, some employees and workers feel that they will be fired, terminated, harrassed or punished if they report an unlawful or corrupt action. These reporters, however, are protected by the law as a Whistleblower and can receive compensation because of the False Claims Act or the Medicaid False Claims Act. If you have reported actions that may be fraudulent, then you should talk to a Whistleblower or qui tam lawyer about your facts.

Whistleblowers help the government to get back billions of dollars each year with the help of the False Claims Act. In fact, fraudulent Medicaid claims are also caught by whistleblowers having the Medicaid False Claims Act on their side. If you report a false claim or fraudulent action to the government, then the government will give you, the whistleblower, a part of the money that gets recovered. This is because of qui tam requirements. Qui Tam means that a person files a lawsuit for the king and also for him or herself. The phrase is qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, or, “he who sues for the king as well for himself.”

These requirements and lawsuits were made popular during the Civil War when many people were getting away with fraudulent actions against the government. In 1986, the False Claims Act was amended to raise the total compensation given to people who reported fraudulent actions, or whistleblowers. If a whistleblower works with a lawyer then it may be possible for them to get three times the amount the government would get in damages and also get additional compensation for general fines.

TYPES OF CASES

The most common situations that could form the basis of a Qui Tam action include:

• -Submitting a false or fraudulent record, bill or statement to the government in order to fraudulently obtain money such as reporting a medical service that was never performed for Medicare or Medicad;
• -Conspiring with a third party to submit or present have a false or fraudulent claim to the government;
• -Withholding property of the government with the intent to defraud or conceal the property from the government;
• -Fraudulently buying property of the government from someone not authorized to sell that property; and
• -Making a false statement to fraudulently avoid paying money to the government or to avoid delivering property to the government.

FOR HELP, PLEASE CONTACT US.

We help whistleblowers on a contingency basis, meaning there is no fee charged for our work unless there is a recovery. We also front any and all expenses. No matter where you are located — we will represent you. We will come to you, you will not have to come to us.

Attorneys in our firm and attorneys that we work with on Whistleblower, Qui Tam, False Claims Act cases have represented a host of persons making claims, for violations of federal tax law, Medicare law and more.

For more information, please contact our team of whitsleblower and qui tam attorneys today at 1-800-632-1404 or fill out this form below for a free initial consultation.