Posts Tagged ‘False Claims Act’
Diagnostic Testing Company Settles False Claims Act Case Filed by Whistleblower
Exagen, a California-based life sciences company that makes diagnostic tests for the treatment of autoimmune conditions, recently settled allegations, filed by a whistleblower, that it violated the False Claims Act by paying physicians to use its laboratory tests. The Settlement Agreement The agreement called for Exagen to pay $653,143. The case was brought under the…
Read MoreLab Owner Gets 27 Years, Must Pay Back $187M in Genetic Testing Healthcare Fraud Scheme
An Atlanta lab owner has been ordered to turn over $187 million in ill-gotten gains he obtained in a healthcare fraud scheme that involved kickbacks and bribes in violation of the Anti-kickback statute and False Claims Act. The order was recently issued by a Miami federal judge against Minal Patel and follows his sentencing in…
Read MoreCigna to Pay $173M to Settle False Claims Act Litigation Filed by Whistleblower
Health insurance giant Cigna agreed to pay nearly $173 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false diagnosis codes under the federal Medicare Advantage program to increase its payments. In a lawsuit filed last year, the feds alleged that between 2014 and 2019, Cigna submitted to the Centers for…
Read MoreDermatology Company Settles Violations of Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute
A Texas-based dermatology management company recently agreed to pay the U.S. government approximately $8.9 million, including $5.9 million in restitution, to settle self-reported allegations of potential violations of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute resulting in liability under the False Claims Act. The Settlement Agreement According to the settlement agreement, from January 2013 to…
Read MoreLincare To Pay $29M to Settle Medicare Overbilling Healthcare Fraud Case
Florida-based Lincare Holdings has agreed to pay $29 million to settle allegations it overbilled Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for oxygen equipment provided to patients with respiratory-related illnesses. The settlement, which is the largest ever healthcare fraud settlement in the Eastern District of Washington settles claims that Lincare violated the False Claims Act. Lincare Agrees…
Read MoreDOJ Healthcare Fraud Crackdown on COVID-19 Testing Scam
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) aggressive crackdown on COVID-19 testing scams finds healthcare providers under scrutiny.
Read MoreFlorida Man Pleads Guilty in Multimillion-Dollar DME Medicare Kickback Case
An Orlando, Fla. man faces up to ten years behind bars for his role in a durable medical equipment (DME) kickback scheme in which he and his co-conspirators were paid approximately $2.1 million and caused losses to Medicare and other healthcare benefit programs of at least $3.6 million. Patrick Fitchner pleaded guilty in New Jersey…
Read MoreBrain Health Scan Company Founder Settles False Claims Act Whistleblower Lawsuit
The co-founder of a New York-based company that purported to provide brain health scans (EEGs) for early detection of cognitive impairments has agreed to pay $220,000 to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act. The company, Evoke Neuroscience Inc., also will pay $225,000. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, David Hagedorn, Evoke’s co-founder…
Read MoreLaboratory Owner, Serial Entrepreneur Target of DOJ Complaint Alleging He Violated the False Claims Act
A man who dubbed himself a “serial entrepreneur†is the target of a complaint alleging he violated the False Claims Act by submitting more than 24,000 false claims to Medicare for more than 300,000 respiratory pathogen panel tests that were not ordered by healthcare providers, not medically necessary, or never performed. The defendants billed and received…
Read MoreSCOTUS Ruling Gives Government Broad Authority in Dismissing FCA Whistleblower Cases
If a whistleblower files a False Claims Act lawsuit can the government dismiss the action? Yes, so long as the government first intervenes in the action. That was the recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in a case styled United States el rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc., et al. The False Claims…
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