Articles Posted in Whistleblower Lawsuits

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. Ponte claims that she was pressured to approve contracts worth $34 million that Sanofi had with Deloitte and Accenture. She claims that the contracts included illegal incentives intended to “induce customers, including physicians, hospitals and/or retail pharmacy programs such as Walgreens and Rite Aid to influence the prescribing of drugs and/or improperly ‘switch’ from selling other manufacturers’ drugs.” Contact a Boston Whistleblower Lawyer Today.

Sanofi Attorneys Alleged to Have Destroyed Important Documents

In response to Ponte’s allegations, Sanofi referred to the whistleblower as a, “disgruntled former employee who is opportunistically attacking our company.” However, in addition to her claims of illegal kickbacks, Ponte also claims that Sanofi attorneys deliberately destroyed important documents to avoid those documents being revealed during the discovery process. Discovery is the process by which civil litigants exchange evidence and documentation relevant to a case. John Bennett, an attorney working for Sanofi, denied these allegations saying that Ponte’s claims are “false, scandalous and unsupported by any evidence.” However, this round of federal healthcare law violations seems to be more of a trend than a fluke for Sanofi. In addition to the $100 million settlement with the federal government in 2012, Sanofi was also fined 28 million euros in connection with a bribery case in Germany.

Federal Class-Action Suit Claims Sanofi Inflated Stock Prices

Ponte claims that she was fired in 2014 in retaliation for reporting Sanofi’s kickback scheme. Her whistleblowing resulted in an internal probe at the pharmaceutical company. It appears that the kickbacks were not the company’s only violations of healthcare laws. A former contractor also claims that a Sanofi executive pressured her into entering incorrect purchase order codes so that Accenture and Deloitte could get paid. In these instances, the contracts hadn’t yet been approved by Sanofi’s legal department, but the false codes allowed payment to move forward anyhow. Sanofi shareholders have also filed a lawsuit claiming that the company inflated its stock price and misled investors. Evidence shows that Sanofi likely paid millions of dollars in fraudulent payments to Accenture and Deloitte. Whistleblowers claim that the consulting companies served as middlemen in the scheme. However, Accenture and Deloitte both deny any wrongdoing in the case. Continue reading

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) to the tune of $390 million.

A whistleblower is an individual who reports information about illegal activity in any public or private organization. The qui tam provisions allow individuals to file lawsuits on behalf of the federal government, with the main goal being to recover funds that were fraudulently taken. In addition to recovering funds, reporting this type of information may protect public safety and well-being, and it can be very lucrative for the whistleblower. Contact a Boston Whistleblower Lawyer.

Novartis Paid Illegal Kickbacks to Pharmacies in Exchange for Pushing Certain Drugs

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 largest of its kind involving doctor referrals to hospitals, will be distributed among those four states, and the federal government.

The lawsuit alleges that Adventist directed its hospitals to employ physicians within their local service areas and to purchase private practices in order to create a patient referral monopoly in those areas. In fact, many of the doctors at one of the Adventist-owned physician practices, Florida Hospital Medical Group, also worked at several Adventist hospitals and outpatient clinics.

Federal False Claims Act

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 company brought the case against the system in 2012.

Adventist Health System includes approximately 44 hospital campuses across 10 different states in the US. The whistle-blowers directly involved in the case had previously worked at a branch of the company, Adventist Park Ridge Health located in Hendersonville, N.C. The three individuals have been identified as risk manager Michael Payne, executive director of physician services Melissa Church, and a compliance officer for physician services by the name of Gloria Pryor. The case they brought against Adventist Health System alleges that Adventist paid doctors for referrals to their company in North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. These allegations are in direct violation of the Stark Law—a law that was instated under three separate provisions that govern physician’s ability to self-refer clients to a medical facility that they hold some type of financial investment in. This investment may include ownership of the facility or a structured compensation agreement with the facility in question. The case brought against Adventist further prompted claims to the government alleging that the system was also in violation of the False Claims Act, which is imposed on companies who “defraud” government programs.

Included in the case against Adventist Health System is the claim that the company paid for car leases for a BMW and a Mustang for a surgeon involved with one of their facilities. Another claim states that they paid an additional $710,000 in bonuses to a dermatologist who only worked out of the office three days a week. Adventist Health System is one of the largest systems of its kind in the nation. And the settlement reached between the company and the federal government over these claims is the largest ever reported for a settlement under the Stark law.

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 injury or death. The incentive is quite substantial. In fact, if penalties are imposed by the Department of Transportation or U.S. Department of Justice, whistleblowers may receive up to 30 percent of penalties in excess of $1 million.

The intent of the act is to encourage auto employees, contractors, manufacturers, suppliers, and dealerships to report information that could prevent unnecessary accidents. The legislation is modeled after existing Internal Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower protections that help prevent tax fraud and illegal investment activities.

Bipartisan Act Will Encourage Automotive Workers to Report Safety Defects

The Thune-Nelson Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act was approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in November of last year. United States Senators John Thune and Bill Nelson introduced the bipartisan Act. “While I believe most manufacturers are dedicated to putting vehicle safety first, there have been disappointing examples where that did not happen and Americans died and sustained serious injuries,” Thune stated. “This legislation will be a powerful tool to help ensure that problems regarding known safety defects are promptly reported to safety regulators.”

“The auto industry needs to be held accountable if it makes decisions that result in serious injuries or deaths,” Nelson said, “ And, one way to do that is to encourage insiders to come forward and tell the truth.” Continue reading