False Claims Act

Clothing Company to Pay $3 Million to Settle False Claims Act Case Initiated by Investigative-Firm Whistleblower

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York recently announced a settlement of a False Claims Act case initially brought by a whistleblower against Lafayette 148, Inc., a clothing company based in Brooklyn, New York.  The FCA case alleged that Lafayette “falsely certify[ied] that it was eligible for a pandemic-era second-draw Paycheck Protection Program...

Echostar's DISH Network Pays $17.3M to Settle False Claims Act Violations of Defrauding FCC Broadband Benefits Programs

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Wednesday (May 6), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Colorado-based DISH Wireless agreed to pay roughly $17.3 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by defrauding two Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband benefits programs.[1]

How Did DISH Allegedly Defraud the FCC Broadband Benefit Programs?

The two FCC programs at...

DOJ Wants to Hear From Data Miner Whistleblowers

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On April 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new initiative -- called the Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics (FOCUS) initiative -- targeting data miner whistleblowers.[1]  It follows what DOJ describes as a “surge” in False Claims Act cases “driven by companies or individuals who analyze publicly available government data for potential...

PET Scan Provider to Pay $8.3M to Resolve Allegations of Kickbacks and False Claims Act Violations

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team California-based medical scan provider, Modern Nuclear Inc. (MNI), agreed to pay $8,334,350, and additional money based on future revenue, to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying referring cardiologists hefty fees to supervise positron emission tomography (PET) scans, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.[1]

What Did the Alleged...

Eurecat Agrees to Repay $3.25M Over Alleged CARES Act PPP Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On April 14, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson announced a civil settlement with Eurecat U.S. Incorporated for $3.25 million after Eurecat allegedly received funds they were ineligible for from the COVID-era CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program.[1]

What Is the CARES Act and How Did It Help Businesses?

In 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic...

AssuredPartners to Pay $107M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations of Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fraud

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On April 7, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Florida-based AssuredPartners, Inc. (AP), a national partnership of insurance companies, agreed to pay $107 million to settle allegations of violating the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent applications for Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance.[1]  In a parallel criminal proceeding, AP’s insurance...

Advanced Urology Pays $14M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations of Billing Medicare for Medically Unnecessary Services

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On April 2, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Georgia-based Advanced Urology, Inc. and its founder Dr. Jitesh Patel will pay $14 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act and Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act by billing for urology procedures that were medically unnecessary or not performed at all.[1]  Notably, DOJ highlighted that...

Physical Therapy Company to Pay Millions to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On March 25, Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, announced that Team Rehabilitation Services, LLC (“Team Rehab”), a company operating around 140 physical therapy clinics in various states, agreed to pay $4,969,494 to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for payment to federal...

Healthcare Management Corporation to Pay $4M to Resolve False Claims Act Charges

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Maryland-based CVR Management, LLC, the Center for Vein Restoration, Center for Vascular Medicine (CVM), LLC, and Sanjiv Lakhanpal, MD, FACS (the entities’ CEO and president and CVM’s chairman of the board), agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for medically unnecessary...

Mississippi Resident to Pay $31M for Alleged Involvement in Healthcare Kickback Scheme

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On March 19, Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced that the government secured a civil judgment against Mississippi resident Robert L. Crites for allegedly orchestrating a commission-based referral scheme in violation of the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute. The scheme targeted federal healthcare programs.[1] A federal judge entered...