Archive for February 2022
Florida-based Consultant Resolves FCA Allegations
Ted Albin and his firm, Grapevine Billing and Consulting Services Inc., recently agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act (FCA). It was alleged that between 2008 and 2017 Albin and Grapevine provided consulting services to the now-defunct Arriva, its parent company Alere Inc., and Abbott Laboratories, and that from…
Read MoreSober Home Initiative Results in Second Conviction
A U.S. Justice Department investigation of kickback schemes targeted at substance abuse treatment facilities dubbed the “Sober Homes initiative†recently ended in the conviction of a Florida doctor. According to evidence presented at trial, Mark Agresti, M.D., 59, of Palm Beach, unlawfully billed approximately $110 million of urinalysis (UA) drug testing services that were medically…
Read MorePharma Distributor Pays $13.1M to Settle FCA Allegations
Cardinal Health became the target of whistleblowers who alleged that the Ohio-based pharmaceutical distributor recruited new customers by offering and paying cash bonuses to physicians to purchase drugs from them instead of its competitors for use on Medicare and Medicaid patients in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act. As a result, the…
Read MoreDOJ recovers $5.6B in FCA Settlements/Judgments
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced it had taken in more than $5.6 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2021. That’s the second largest annual total in the history of the FCA and the largest in seven years. In FY 2020, DOJ’s recoveries…
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