Category: Settlements

$145 Million Settlement Shows the Depth of Government’s Effort to Combat Opioid Crisis and its Interest in Fraud Actions Against Electronic Health Records Companies

Less than a year after United States Attorney Christina E. Nolan warned electronic health records (“EHR”) companies in a DOJ press release that they “should consider themselves on notice” following a $57.25 million FCA settlement with EHR software developer Greenway Health LLC, the DOJ announced in a recent press release a $145 million settlement with another EHR vendor, Practice Fusion, Inc.  The settlement includes $26...

Justice Department Touts FY2019 False Claims Act Statistics as Evidence of Administration’s “High Priority” Against Fraud, but the Numbers Show Less of a Priority on Qui Tams

Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice issued a press release to announce recoveries of over $3 billion from False Claims Act cases in FY2019. In making the announcement, Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Civil Division emphasized, “The significant number of settlements and judgments obtained over the past year demonstrate the high priority this administration places on deterring fraud against the...

False Claims Act: New Developments for an Old Law

The past 18 months have been a (relatively) wild time for the False Claims Act — on the books since 1863. In FY2018 the Department of Justice obtained more than $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving fraud and false claims against the United States government. Add to this staggering statistic the fallout of the Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services Inc....

Software Provider and DOJ Reach $8.6M Settlement for FCA Case Involving Alleged Cyber Security Shortcomings

Amid increased public and government attention to cyber security, a qui tam plaintiff’s lawsuit has resulted a large settlement for a government contractors’ purported misrepresentations regarding compliance with government cyber security standards. In what is believed to be the first-of-its-kind settlement of an FCA claim premised upon cyber security misrepresentations, Cisco Systems recently agreed to pay $8.6 million to the federal and state governments. The...

An Ambulance Provider’s Long Road to Settlement

On June 20, 2019, more than six years after the case was first set into motion by the Relator, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced in a press release that Hart to Heart Ambulance Services, Inc. (“Hart to Heart”) settled a false claims act case—which alleged that it submitted false claims to Medicare for ambulance transports that were not medically necessary—for...

Alleged Violations of Government Data Security Requirements Yield FCA Settlement

On May 31, 2019, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister of the District of Kansas announced a $250,000 settlement with Coffey Health System to resolve a False Claims Act case.  The case arose from allegations that the hospital’s patient data security was insufficient to justify an incentive payment from the federal government.  The two whistleblowers each will receive $50,000 from the settlement. In 2016, two whistleblowers filed...

Sutter Health LLC Pays $30 Million to Settle Alleged Overpayment of Medicare Advantage Funds, but Faces Similar Allegations in Separate Qui Tam

On April 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Sutter Health LLC—along with its affiliates Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, Sutter Gould Medical Foundation, and Sutter Medical Foundation—would pay $30 million to settle allegations they provided inaccurate information about Medicare Advantage Plan beneficiaries in order to receive inflated payments. The settlement stems from a coordinated effort between the U.S. Department...

Relator Strikes Twice Against Walgreens

For those who pay close attention to FCA settlements, the January 22 press release from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York of a $60 million settlement against Walgreens related to its Prescription Savings Club (“PSC”) program should not come as a complete surprise. In an earlier press release, almost two years ago to the day, the Southern District of New...

For FY2018, Justice Department Touts Nearly $3 Billion in False Claims Act Recoveries, Mostly From Qui Tams and Alleged Healthcare Frauds

The Justice Department announced in a recent press release that it obtained more than $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments from cases involving fraud and false claims against the government. The vast majority of this amount—$2.1 billion—came from lawsuits filed by whistleblowers, or “relators” suing on behalf of the government, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claim Act (“FCA”). Included in the qui...

Energy & Process Corp. Settles Whistleblower Action Related to Construction of Nuclear Waste Treatment Facility

On Monday, April 24, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Energy & Process Corp. agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle False Claims Act allegations concerning the construction of a large nuclear waste treatment facility in South Carolina. The allegations came to light as part of a whistleblower action brought by a former employee of a principal E&P subcontractor in late 2013. The federal...