The Department of Justice announced that Allergen Inc. will pay $600 million to resolve a federal probe of how it has marketed Botox, the injectable wrinkle smoother. The company will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor that it misbranded the drug during the period of 2000-2005, making claims for uses not then approved as safe…
Source of Navigation Equipment Violates Trade Agreements Act; $695,063 Quitam Settlement Reached
The US Department of Justice and Furuno USA Inc. reached a $695,063 settlement in a quitam lawsuit over the purchase of electronic navigation equipment. The navigation equipment was purchased by the US Coast Guard, US Navy and the General Services Administration. The equipment was manufactured in China, even after Furuno USA was advised by the…
New Laws Provide Substantial Rewards to Whistleblowers for Reporting Fraud on Wall Street
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law last month contains new laws rewarding whistleblowers who report securities and commodities fraud. The rewards can range anywhere from 10% to 30% of any sanctions exceeding $1 million (including penalties, disgorgement and restitution) arising from a judicial or administrative action brought under the…
Teva Pharmaceutical Settles Medicaid Fraud Claim
Israeli-based generic drug company Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $27 million to resolve Medicaid fraud claims. The settlement addresses allegations that the company set and reported inflated prices for medications dispensed in Florida pharmacies, who then received reimbursement by the state Medicaid program. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum claimed that by reporting inflated prices, Teva…
Benchmark Rehabilitation Reaches Settlement with Tennessee Attorney General
Benchmark Rehabilitation Partners LLC (“Benchmark”) reached a $1.8 million settlement agreement with Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper to resolve allegations that it improperly billed the Medicare, TennCare and Medicaid programs. According to the state and federal government, Benchmark submitted claims to Medicaid for therapeutic exercise services from 2001-2006. However, records show that patients actually underwent…
Advanced BioNutrition Pays $934,000 to Settle Whistleblower Allegations
Advanced BioNutrition Corporation (“BioNutrition”), a Columbia biotech company, and its chief executive officer, David Kyle, paid the U.S. government $934,000 to resolve allegations that its officials submitted inaccurate grant progress reports to government research funds and thereby violated the False Claims Act. In 2005, BioNutrition was awarded the first phase of a National Science Foundation…
University of Chicago Hospital Pays $7 Million to Settle Whistleblower Case
The University of Chicago Medical Center has agreed to pay $7 million to resolve allegations that it overcrowded its neonatal intensive care unit (“NICU”), thereby exposing infants to a risk of infection. The medical center said that it exceeded capacity in order to help as many infants as possible, that no babies were harmed, and…
Cochlear Americas to Pay U.S. $880,000 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
Cochlear Americas, a cochlear implant manufacturer that is a subsidiary of Cochlear Limited, will pay the government $880,000 to settle allegations that it violated the Anti-kickback Act and False Claims Act. Allegedly, Cochlear Americas provided illegal compensation to physicians who prescribed for Medicare and Medicaid patients the company’s cochlear implant systems, in order to induce…
Northrop Grumman to Pay $12.5 Million in False Claims Settlement; Whistleblower Awarded $2.4 Million
Northrop Grumman Corp. agreed to pay the federal government $12.5 million to settle allegations that the company caused false claims to be submitted to the government. Allegedly, Northrop Grumman’s Navigation Systems Division failed to test electronic components it supplied for military airplane, helicopter and submarine navigation systems to ensure that the parts would function at…
Heart Device Manufacturer, Hospitals Pay Nearly $4 Million for Alleged Kickback Scheme
Minnesota-based heart device manufacturer, St. Jude Medical Inc., and two hospitals have agreed to pay the United States a total of $3,898,300 to settle allegations that St. Jude paid illegal kickbacks to the hospitals to induce them to purchase equipment from St. Jude’s. According to the government, the kickback scheme led to violations of the…