The federal government has joined a whistleblower suit alleging that Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co. and its subsidiaries violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay import duties on certain ink pigments. According to the complaint, the company claimed that the pigment was imported from Mexico and Japan, allowing it to escape anti-dumping and countervailing…
Construction Contractor to Pay $500,000 for DBE Fraud
Anthony Allega Cement Contractor Inc. has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations that the company failed to comply with the Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, as required under its contract to construct and pave a new runway at Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport. According to the complaint, Allega failed to comply with…
ATK Launch Systems to Pay Nearly $37 Million for Faulty Flares
ATK Launch Systems, who manufactures flares used by the military as illumination for nighttime combat missions, has agreed to pay $36.9 million to resolve allegations that the company sold the military flares which it knew were dangerously defective. According to the complaint, as little as a one foot drop could potentially cause the flares to…
Merck Pleads Guilty, Pays $950 Million
Merck Sharp & Dohme, a unit of Merck & Co., pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of misbranding its painkiller drug Vioxx. Merck agreed to pay a $321.6 million criminal fine and a $628.3 million civil settlement to resolve allegations that it marketed the drug for unapproved uses and concealed heart attack and stroke risks…
NYS AG Files First FCA Tax Case
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a complaint under the state’s False Claims Act alleging that Sprint “deliberately under-collect[ed] and underpa[id] millions of dollars in New York state and local taxes on flat-rate access charges for wireless calling plans.” New York State amended its False Claims Act in 2010 to permit cases for…
Feds Want Incoming J&J CEO to Testify in Risperdal Kickback Case
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston filed a motion to compel the soon-to-be CEO of Johnson & Johnson, Alex Gorsky, to give sworn testimony in a case alleging that Johnson & Johnson paid Omnicare Inc. millions of dollars in kickbacks to encourage the sale of its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. Mr. Gorsky served as vice president…
CXtec to Pay $2 Million for FCA Violation
A company that provides communications equipment to the federal government has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a False Claims Act case alleging that the company sold federal agencies products that violated the Trade Agreements Act, as well as counterfeit goods. According to the complaint, the company sold federal agencies products manufactured in China,…
Neil Getnick Testifies before NYC Council on NYC FCA
Neil Getnick, managing partner of Getnick & Getnick LLP and chairperson of Taxpayers Against Fraud, testified before the New York City Council Committee on Governmental Operations in support of the city’s efforts to extend and improve its False Claims Act and implement other protections for whistleblowers. Mr. Getnick lauded the Council’s efforts in proposing amendments…
Federal Prosecutors, Task Force Testing Neglected Fraud Law
Although the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act was passed in 1989, the statute has appeared in only a few dozen cases until recently. Seeking all useful tools under the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country and President Obama’s mortgage fraud task force have all been experimenting…
AmMed Direct to Pay $18 Million
AmMed Direct, a company that sells diabetic supplies, has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve allegations that it improperly billed Medicare for supplies purchased as a result of a bait-and-switch advertising scheme and that it failed to refund Medicare for supplies that were subsequently returned by beneficiaries. According to the allegations, AmMed published an…