Wright Medical Technology Inc., based in Arlington, TN, will pay $7.9 million to settle U.S. civil charges that it paid kickbacks via consulting contracts to encourage orthopedic surgeons to use its hip and knee devices. Wright also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement under which criminal charges will be dropped in 12 months if James…
Novartis Pays $422.5 Million Off-Label Drug Marketing
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation agreed to plead guilty for off-label marketing of the anti-epileptic drug Trileptal between July 2000 and December 2001. Novartis will pay a criminal fine of $185 million. The company is also paying $237.5 million to settle civil liabilities for off-label marketing of Trileptal and paying kickbacks to healthcare providers to induce them…
El Centro Regional Medical Center Pays $2.2 Million to Settle Charges of Medicare Fraud
A 165-bed acute care hospital in Imperial County, CA, has settled a quitam lawsuit alleging that it defrauded Medicare. In announcing the $2.2 million settlement, the government alleged that the El Centro Regional Medical Center had inflated its charges to Medicare patients, resulting in larger reimbursements to the hospital. In particular, the hospital charged patients…
Department of Justice Asks to Join Whistleblower Suit Against Pfizer
The federal government and several states have asked the court to allow them to join a whistleblower lawsuit that accuses Pfizer’s Wyeth unit of giving doctors who prescribe Rapamune kickbacks and promoting the organ transplant drug for off-label uses. The lawsuit was first filed in 2005 by two Pfizer sales representatives. Rapamune is an immunosuppressant…
Arthritis and Allergy Associates Settle False Claims Lawsuit
The Connecticut-based medical practice, Arthritis and Allergy Associates, will pay more than $247,000 to settle accusations that it submitted false claims to Medicare. The practice allegedly billed Medicare between 2004 and 2009 for treatments for back pain that it did not perform according to Medicare standards. In addition, it was charged with improperly billing Medicare…
Omnicare, Inc., Settles Alleged Medicaid Fraud, Pays $2.1 Million
Omnicare, Inc., the leading US provider of medications for nursing home residents headquartered in Covington, KY, paid $21 million to settle allegations of Medicaid fraud in Massachusetts and Michigan. A whistleblower complaint stated that the company knowingly charged Medicaid more for drugs than it did private insurers. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts received $9,450,000 and the…
Forest Laboratories Settles Claims Regarding Celexa , Lexapro and Levothroid
As part of a crackdown by the Justice Department on off-label marketing, a unit of Forest Laboratories, maker of Celexa, an antidepressant, will pay more than $313 million to settle various criminal and civil complaints. This includes a claim that it illegally promoted the drug for use in children and adolescents, though it was only…
Cisco Systems and Westcon Pay $48 Million Due to Alleged Misrepresentations to the GSA
Cisco Systems and Westcon Group North America (formerly d.b.a. Comstor) will pay $48 million to settle claims that they knowingly provided incomplete information to the General Services Administation during Westcon’s contract negotiations with the GSA, which resulted in defective pricing of Cisco products and submission of false claims to the United States. As part of…
Student Loan Company Nelnet Pays $55-Million Settlement
Nebraska-based Nelnet will pay the federal government a settlement of $55 million to resolve a quitam lawsuit brought against it and other educational lenders. The lenders, who include the nation’s largest student-loan company, Sallie Mae, are accused of defrauding taxpayers of more than a billion dollars in student-loan subsidies. The lawsuit was brought by Jon…
Hewlett-Packard Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit for $55 Million
The Justice Department announced that technology giant Hewlett-Packard will pay $55 million to settle claims that it paid kickbacks to systems integrators who recommended agencies buy HP products. In addition, the claim also resolves claims that HP’s 2002 contract with the GSA was defectively priced. HP is one of a growing number of companies who…