Caremark LLC, a pharmacy benefit management company (PBM), agreed to pay $4.25 million to settle allegations that it knowingly failed to reimburse Medicaid for patients’ drug costs that should have been paid by Caremark-administered private health plans. When a patient is covered by both Medicaid and a private health plan, that patient is called a…
Northrop Sued over USPS Contract Worth $874 Million
A former employee filed a complaint against Northrop Grumman, accusing the engineering giant of repeatedly making false reports and certifications to the US Postal Service (USPS) under a 2007 contract for the supply of 100 Flats Sequencing Systems (FSS) sorting machines. According to the complaint, Northrop materially misrepresented the speed, reliability, accuracy, and efficiency of…
AT&T Will Pay $3.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Case
AT&T has agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it knowingly overbilled the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund, which reimburses service providers that offer phone service for hearing- and speech-impaired individuals through the FCC’s IP Relay program. The government alleged that, from December 2009 through December 2011, AT&T’s claims for…
J&J to Pay $2.2 Billion to Resolve FCA Allegations
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay over $2.2 billion to resolve allegations that it marketed two schizophrenia drugs, Risperdal and Invega, for off-label uses. Janssen, a J&J subsidiary pled guilty to marketing Risperdal for off-label purposes. According to the DOJ, J&J marketed Risperdal for symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, depression, hostility and confusion in…
US Joins Suit Against Background Check Company
The Department of Justice announced that it intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that United States Investigations Services did not fully perform background checks of federal employees that it was hired to do. According to the government, USIS was hired by the Office of Personnel Management to perform background investigations on individuals to be employed…
SEC Pays Sixth Whistleblower under Dodd-Frank Program
The SEC announced that it will pay a whistleblower over $150,000 as a reward for bringing information to the Commission that resulted in a successful enforcement action. Although the dollar amount may pale in comparison to the $14 million award announced earlier this month, the SEC has repeatedly emphasized that one of the key benefits…
Omnicare to Pay $120 Million
Just days before trial was set to begin in the Northern District of Ohio, Omnicare has agreed to pay $120 million to settle allegations that the pharmacy offered kickbacks to nursing homes. According to the allegations, Omnicare offered nursing homes discounts for their Medicare Part A patients in exchange for the more lucrative business of…
Return on False Claims Act is Over 20-to-1
Those who read this blog have long been aware of the effectiveness of the False Claims Act in returning money to the public fisc. Previous reports had stated that the government recovered $15 for every dollar it spent on FCA enforcement. According to a new report published by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, the…
Boston Scientific to Pay $30M to Settle FCA Allegations
Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that its subsidiary, Guidant, knowingly sold defective pacemakers that were implanted into Medicare patients. According to the government, some devices sold by Guidant contained a defect that caused the device to shock itself rather than the patient’s heart; such a shock would cause the…
SEC Announces Largest Whistleblower Award to Date
The SEC Office of the Whistleblower announced today the payment of a $14 million award to an anonymous tipster. This is the largest award to date from the office, which was created under 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act in response to the global financial crisis. Based on the statutory range, the whistleblower’s tip may have allowed the…