False Claims Act

Jelly Bean Communications Design and its Manager Settle False Claims Act Liability for Cybersecurity Failures on Florida Medicaid Enrollment Website Jelly Bean Communications Design LLC (Jelly Bean) and Jeremy Spinks have agreed to pay $293,771 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they failed to secure personal information on a federally funded Florida children’s health insurance website, which Jelly Bean created, hosted, and maintained. “Government contractors responsible for handling personal information must ensure that such information is appropriately protected,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will use the False ... Read more

Michigan Nonprofit Organizations Agree to Pay $225,887 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Improper Receipt of Paycheck Protection Program Loans Two Michigan nonprofit organizations, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA), have agreed to settle allegations that the organizations violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by applying for and obtaining loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for which they knew or should have known they were ineligible. Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide emergency financial support ... Read more

Home Health Agency and Former Owner to Pay $5.8 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Doctor’s Choice Home Care, Inc. and its former owners, Timothy Beach and Stuart Christensen, have agreed to pay $5.15 million to resolve allegations that the home health agency provided improper financial inducements to referring physicians through sham medical director agreements and bonuses to physicians’ spouses who were Doctor’s Choice employees, the Department of Justice announced today. Timothy Beach and Stuart Christensen founded Doctor’s Choice and formerly served as its top executives. Doctor’s Choice is a home health agency based in Sarasota, Florida, with branches ... Read more

ResMed Corp. to Pay $37.5 Million for Allegedly Causing False Claims Related to the Sale of Equipment for Sleep Apnea and other Disorders SAN DIEGO – ResMed Corp., a manufacturer of durable medical equipment (DME) based in San Diego, California, has agreed to pay more than $37.5 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations for paying kickbacks to DME suppliers, sleep labs and other health care providers, the Department of Justice announced today. “Paying any type of illegal remuneration to induce patient referrals undermines the integrity of our nation’s health care system,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of ... Read more

Telemarketer And His Companies Agree To Pay $2.5 Million To Settle Allegations That They Operated Telemedicine Schemes Involving Illegal Kickbacks And Unnecessary Prescriptions United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez and U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey for the Eastern District of Tennessee announce that Scott Roix, together with several entities through which he ran his telemarketing business, including HealthRight, LLC; Health Savings Solutions, LLC; Vici Marketing, LLC; and Vici Marketing Group, LLC (hereinafter collectively referred to as “marketing companies”), have agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve allegations that Roix and these marketing companies violated the False Claims Act by causing ... Read more

Anil J. Desai, M.D., and related entities to pay over $200,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations Anil J. Desai, M.D., East Metro Internal Medicine, L.L.C. and Rockdale-Newton Hematology-Oncology (the “Desai Parties”), based in Conyers and Covington, Georgia, have agreed to pay $213,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid for drugs that were never provided to their patients, and for drugs that had not received final marketing approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). “When healthcare providers bill for goods and services that they did not provide, ... Read more

Captain of Prominent Tourist Sailing Ship Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Claiming Disability Collected Disability Payments Claiming He Couldn’t Work, while Telling Coast Guard He had No Impairments for Captain’s Credentials The Captain of a Seattle tourist sailboat was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 9 months in prison, two years of supervised release, a $5,500 fine and $324,738 in restitution and civil penalty, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. PAUL D. LAMARCHE, 67, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and theft of government property in March 2018, admitting he collected more than $177,000 in disability payments from ... Read more

Kalispell Regional Healthcare System to Pay $24 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Montana-based Kalispell Regional Healthcare System (KRH) along with six subsidiaries and related entities – Kalispell Regional Medical Center (KRMC), HealthCenter Northwest LLC (HealthCenter), Flathead Physicians Group LLC (Flathead), Northwest Horizons LLC (NH), Northwest Orthopedics & Sports Medicine LLC (NOSM), and Applied Health Services Inc. (AHS), (collectively, “KRH entities”) – have agreed to pay $24 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying physicians more than fair market value, and by conspiring to enter into arrangements that improperly induced referrals, the Department ... Read more

Medical Device Maker AngioDynamics Agrees to Pay $12.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Latham, New York-based medical device manufacturer AngioDynamics, Inc. has agreed to pay the United States a total of $12.5 million to resolve allegations that the company caused healthcare providers to submit false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs relating to the use of two medical devices, LC Bead and the Perforator Vein Ablation Kit (PVAK), the Justice Department announced today. “The Justice Department is committed to holding medical device manufacturers accountable, which includes requiring that they follow all ... Read more

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and Christus Health to Pay $12.24 Million to Settle Medicaid False Claims Act Allegations ALBUQUERQUE – CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center (St. Vincent) and its partner, CHRISTUS Health (CHRISTUS), have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by making illegal donations to county governments, which were used to fund the state share of Medicaid payments to the hospital, the Department of Justice announced today. Under the settlement agreement, St. Vincent and CHRISTUS have agreed to pay $12.24 million, plus interest. St. Vincent is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. ... Read more