Diane Ponte, an ex-paralegal for France-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi, claimed last year that the company had paid $30 million in alleged kickbacks to promote its diabetes drugs. Only a year earlier, Sanofi agreed to settle with the U.S. federal government for $100 million in a lawsuit alleging similar fraudulent activity.…
In 2010, qui tam whistleblower David Kester alleged that Novartis AG, a European pharmaceutical company, offered illegal kickbacks in an effort to increase sales of its transplant drug Myfortic. Just one week before the trial was expected to begin, the pharmaceutical giant agreed to settle a False Claims Act (FCA)…
In one of the biggest fraud scandals in motor vehicle manufacturer history, Volkswagen has admitted to rigging 11 million vehicles with a software designed to cheat emissions tests. Millions of consumers have purchased the rigged cars, billed as eco-friendly, thinking they were doing something good for the environment and public…
In a record-breaking settlement, Adventist Health System must pay over $118 million to settle a 2012 whistleblower lawsuit. The large settlement is a result of Adventist’s alleged over-compensation to physicians for referring patients to Adventist-owned health care facilities in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina. The settlement, which is the…
Adventist Health System, based out of Florida, has reached a settlement with the federal government following allegations of the system offering “excessive” compensation for doctor’s referrals. In the settlement, Adventist Health Systems will have to pay a record setting $118.7 million to the federal government after three whistle-blowers from the…
In the wake of several high-profile, and deadly, motor vehicle accident cases, the U.S. Senate has approved an incentive for automotive industry whistleblowers. The Thune-Nelson Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act encourages auto industry employees, contractors, and others to report vehicle defects and other safety problems that could result in serious…
Rosseau Management Inc. will pay $300,000 to resolve a Medicare billing fraud lawsuit accusing the assisted living facilities owner of letting subcontractor RehabCare Group East. Inc. turn in fraudulent Medicare claims. The latter provided rehabilitation therapy at three facilities. According to the Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s Office in the…
The Justice Department is now part of two whistleblower lawsuits accusing cardiologist Asad Qamar and his Institute for Cardiovascular Excellence of Medicare fraud. The complaints contend that Qamar conducted and billed for peripheral artery intervention procedures that were not necessary and waived 20% co-payments so that patients wouldn’t question his…
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has decided to stop the use of a guardrail-end terminal over concerns that there may be safety issues. The rail-end guardrail pieces, known as the ET-Plus, are made by Trinity Industries of Texas. The manufacturer has already have been the subject of products liability lawsuits…
Extendicare Health Services Inc., a nursing and rehabilitation facilitation chain, has agreed to pay $38 million to settle Medicaid and Medicare fraud claims that were originally brought in a whistleblower lawsuit. The chain is accused of billing for substandard care and submitting claim for therapy services that were medically unnecessary.…