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Escrow accountant charged with mail fraud

Posted on October 14th, 2011 No Comments

A woman with a scheme to deceive a title insurance company and lenders of $1.7 million was found guilty of mail fraud.

The escrow accountant worked for companies that were located in Washington, D.C., Annapolis and Baltimore. She used her job position to adjust escrow account statements before they were audited. These alterations made the reports appear to be balanced when in reality they were off by $3 million.

Due to her misleading tactics, the company she was employed by lost $1.7 million. Two other people are expected to go on trial in November for their parts in this mail fraud scheme.

The woman in question can face up to 20 years in jail and a fine of $250,000 when she is sentenced in January.

If you have information regarding mail fraud please contact a Qui Tam Attorney of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

PRIDE Industries to Pay $400K to Settle Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on July 12th, 2011 No Comments

PRIDE Industries has agreed to pay $400,000 to the federal government to resolve a qui tam lawsuit.

According to the whistleblower lawsuit, PRIDE, one of the nation’s largest employers of disabled people, knowingly submitted false claims relating to a maintenance contract at the Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas. The contract is part of the Ability One Program, which procures contracts for goods and services that provided employment to disabled people. Under the program, contractors must ensure that 75 percent of all direct labor hours are performed by severely disabled employees.

According to officials with the Justice Department, PRIDE, between 2001 and 2010, employed a large number of temporary, non-disabled workers as part of its maintenance staff, but did not count on their hours as part of its overall ratio, meaning that PRIDE reported false ratio numbers to the National Industries of the Severely Handicapped, which oversees AbilityOne. The department also said PRIDE overcharged the Army by adding costs not allowed under the contract and by charging too much for labor.

PRIDE spokeswoman Audrey Farrington said the company cooperated with the government’s investigation. She added that the company did not admit any liability or guilt as part of the settlement.

If you have information regarding government grant fraud, please contact a Qui Tam Lawyer of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

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DOJ Considers Joining Home Depot Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on June 28th, 2011 No Comments

The Department of Justice is looking into a qui tam lawsuit filed against Home Depot Inc. to see if the suit’s allegations merit the government joining the suit in a leading role.

Accoridng to court documents, the lawsuit alleges purchases made under a government contract violate the Buy American Act of 1933, a law designed to favor American-made products for government purchases. The lawsuit was filed last year against a number of companies, but Home Depot remains a defendant as it has not reached a settlement with the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit was filed by two former employees of Actus Lend Lease, a global developer of communities that has done contract work to build housing for the U.S. armed forces, against Actus and other companies, including Home Depot. Actus settled the matter for $1 million last year.

Home Depot issued a statement this week saying the company “would never knowingly sell prohibited goods under any circumstances, and we have been cooperating with the government to provide the requested information. We believe the plaintiffs have an inaccurate view of the facts.”

Under whistle blower, or qui tam, lawsuits, plaintiffs are entitled to a portion of any money recovered by the government if it endorses the legal action. If you have information of government contract fraud, please contact the Qui Tam Lawyers of Tycko & Zavareei LLP by calling 202-973-0900.

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IASIS Qui Tam Lawsuit Dismissed

Posted on June 6th, 2011 No Comments

An Arizona judge has dismissed a qui tam lawsuit filed against IASIS Healthcare LLC.

According to United States District Court for the District of Arizona documents, the lawsuit was filed in March 2005 and became the subject of subpoena by the Office of Inspector General in September 2005. IASIS filed a motion for the dismissal of Fraizer’s lawsuit, as information supplied with the suit was subject to a claim of attorney-client privilege.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in August 2010 that the plaintiff, Jerry Frazier, while failing to plead an actionable claim against IASIS Healthcare, should be allowed the chance to amend his complaint.

While the order is appealable, the IASIS motion is expected to effectively end Fraizier’s qui tam litigation.

If you need assistanc with a Qui Tam Lawsuit, please contact the Whistleblower Lawyers of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, at 202-973-0900.

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$241M Settlement in CA Healthcare Fraud Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on June 1st, 2011 No Comments

Quest Diagnostics has agreed to pay $241 million to settle a qui tam lawsuit alleging the company overcharged California’s Medi-Cal program.

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the settlement on Friday, saying it was the largest recovery in the history of California’s False Claims Act. “In this time of shrinking budgets, this historic settlement affirms that Medi-Cal exists to help the state’s neediest families, rather than to illicitly line private pockets,” Harris said. “Medi-Cal providers and other who try to cheat the state through false claims and illegal kickbacks should know that my office is watching and will prosecute.”

The settlement with Quest is the result of a qui tam lawsuit filed in 2005 which claimed the company systematically overcharged the state’s Medi-Cal program for more than 15 years. The lawsuit also alleged that Quest gave illegal kickbacks in the form of discounted or free testing to doctors, hospitals, and clinics that referred Medi-Cal patients and other business to the labs.

California laws states that no provider can charge Medi-Cal “for any service more than would have been charged for the same service to other purchasers of comparable services under comparable circumstance.”

If you have information on healthcare fraud, please contact the Qui Tam Attorneys of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, at 202-973-0900.

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$44.3M Settlement in Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit

Posted on May 17th, 2011 No Comments

Pharmaceutical manufacturer EMD Serono Inc. has agreed to pay $44.3 million to settle a Medicaid fraud lawsuit brought by the U.S. Government.

According to court documents, the settlement resolves allegations that false or fraudulent claims for the multiple sclerosis drug Rebig were submitted to the Medicaid program by the pharmaceutical company. The lawsuit alleged that between 2002 and 2009 EMD Serono paid inducements to health-care professionals to get them to prescribe Rebif.

The inducements included promotional speaking engagements, attending speaker training, advisory meetings, educational grants, and charitable contributions, according to the lawsuit. An investigation was launched after a a qui tam lawsuit was filed against the company in Maryland.

If you need assistance with a Medicaid fraud lawsuit, please contact the Health care fraud lawyers of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

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Shell Pays $2.2M to Settle Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on May 11th, 2011 No Comments

Shell has agreed to pay the United States more than $2.2 million to resolve a qui tam lawsuit claiming the company underpaid royalties owed on natural gas produced from Federal leases.

According to officials with the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice, the total payment, including interest, is $2,287,145.74. “We are required to ensure that energy companies accurately report production and pay the required royalties,” Chris Henderson, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of Interior’s Office of Policy said. “We will continue to pursue any case where companies do not follow the rules.”

The settlement with Shell stems from a qui tam lawsuit filed by Harrold Wright. Because Mr. Wright is deceased, his descendents will receive $527,000 of the settlement. The lawsuit was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue.

If you have information of fraud against the government, please contact the Whistleblower Attorneys of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

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$8 Million Settlement in DynCorp Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on April 26th, 2011 No Comments

The United States government has settled a qui tam lawsuit against DynCorp International LLC and The Sandi Group.

According to an announcement from the United States Justice Department, DynCorp has agreed to pay $7.7 million to resolve allegations that it submitted inflated claims for the construction of container camps in Iraq. The Sandi Group agreed to pay $1.01 to settle allegations that it sought reimbursement for danger pay that it falsely claimed to have given U.S. expatriate employees working in Iraq.

The qui tam lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was originally brought by two former employees of The Sandi Group. As a result of the settlement, the two whistleblowers, Drew Halldorson and Brian Evancho, will receive up to $481,710.

The lawsuit alleged that DynCorp and it’s subcontractor, The Sandi Group, submitted or caused to be submitted false claims for payment under DynCorp’s contract with the State Department to provide civilian police training in Iraq. Neither defendant admitted wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

For assistance with a Qui Tam lawsuit against a government contractor, please contact a Whistleblower Lawyer of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

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$1.9M Settlement in Rex Healthcare Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on April 14th, 2011 No Comments

Rex Healthcare has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a qui tam lawsuit that claims it overbilled Medicare for various treatments.

According to court documents, the allegations of overbilling stem from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by an Alabama man and a Wisconsin man. Most of the treatments for which the hospital settled claims were for kyphoplasty, a spinal fracture treatment. Rex is one of 26 hospitals in nine states that have settled federal allegations on kyphoplasty investigations.

According to the United States Department of Justice, Rex classified cases as inpatient admissions from 2004 to 2007 to increase payments, when less expensive outpatient treatments would have been more appropriate.
The $1.9 million settlement was a fraction of the hospital’s net patient revenue of $575 million last year.

If you have information of fraud against the government, please contact a Qui Tam Attorneys of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

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Nursing Home Complaint Center Encourages Healthcare Fraud Lawsuits

Posted on March 30th, 2011 No Comments

The Nursing Home Complaint Center is urging healthcare workers to step forward with information pertaining to Medicare or Medicaid fraud.

According to a Nursing Home Complaint Center press release, Medicare fraud is a “$60 billion a year business in the United states.” The agency is encouraging healthcare professionals to come forward with information regarding fraud, saying the Qui Tam provision of the False Claims Act could entitle them to a reward.

“We honestly believe there are 1000’s of US healthcare, or medical industry managers, or executives, who are sitting on a jackpot,” the press release says. “They have clear, and significant proof their employer is knowingly defrauding the federal, or state government’s Medicare, or Medicaid programs, out of millions.”

If you have information regarding healthcare fraud, please contact the Healthcare fraud lawyers of Tycko & Zavareei LLP by calling 202-973-0900.

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