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Bakersfield, CA Out of JM Eagle Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on July 26th, 2011 No Comments

A federal judge has dismissed the City of Bakersfield, California from a qui tam lawsuit filed against plastic pipe manufacturer, JM Eagle.

According to court documents, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu granted a dismissal motion filed by the Office of the City Attorney to have its name removed from the qui tam lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses JM Eagle of knowingly selling faulty pipe to government customers. In his decision granting the dismissal motion filed by the Office of the City Attorney for the City of Bakersfield, Judge Wu wrote that the city was reassured by the fact that whatever JM Eagle pipe had been used in the city was covered by a retroactive 50-year warranty the company extended to its customers last year.

The qui tam lawsuit was originally filed by John Hendrix, a former JM Eagle employee. Hendrix claimed the company knowingly sold government entities plastic pipes which it knew were faulty and did not meet industry standards. The company has counter-sued Hendrix, claiming he was the architect of a kickback scheme to defraud JM Eagle. The company has a sworn affidavit confirming that he offered to inflate a claim in return for money to be sent directly to his home.

If you need assistance with a whistleblower lawsuit dealing with government construction fraud, please contact the Whistleblower lawyers 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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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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Government Intervenes in Depakote Qui Tam Lawsuits

Posted on March 15th, 2011 No Comments

Federal prosecutors are intervening in three qui tam lawsuits against Abbott Laboratiories that claim the drug maker illegally promoted the epilepsy medication Depakote.

According to officials with the United States Department of Justice, the government has decided to intervene in whistleblower lawsuits brought by former Abbott employees who claim that the company gave doctors seminars in off-label use of Depakote and then lied about what the seminars were about. The lawsuits claim Abbott told doctors they could use Depakote to treat dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Depakote is an anti-seizure drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of epilepsy. The drug is not approved for the treatment of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. It is illegal for drug companies to promote “off-label” uses that have not been approved by the FDA.

The details of the qui tam complaints have been sealed by the Justice Department.

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

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New Mexico Joins JM Eagle Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on March 9th, 2011 No Comments

The state of New Mexico has joined a qui tam lawsuit against JM Eagle that alleges the plastics manufacturer defrauded customers by selling substandard PVC pipe.

New Mexico is the latest of a number of government entities that have joined the whistleblower lawsuit. The state of Nevada, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and 47 municipalities and water districts in California have filed notice with the court that they are joining the case.

New Mexico Attorney General King said JM Eagle “knowingly sold the State substandard PVC pipe, and the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act provides a powerful vehicle for righting this wrong.”

The qui tam lawsuit was originally filed by whistleblower John Hendrix, a former engineer at JM’s product assurance division in New Jersey. Hendrix was fired less than two weeks after he wrote a memo to company management about his concerns that the tensile strength of the PVC pipe was below industry standards.

Hendrix told federal investigators that the plastics company “lived by the motto: ‘There is no shame in lying, but there is shame in getting caught lying.’”

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

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Judge Clears Way for Johnson & Johnson Qui Tam Lawsuit

Posted on March 3rd, 2011 No Comments

A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss a qui tam lawsuit filed against Johnson & Johnson, which accuses the company of involvement in an illegal kickback scheme.

The company sought to have claims brought by the Department of Justice, a number of whistleblowers, and numerous states dismissed, saying that the so-called illegal kickbacks were completely legal rebates. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns found, however, the plaintiffs had sufficient evidence to go forward with the complaint. Stearns did remove several plaintiffs from the case, including the states of Nevada, Texas, and Illinois. Kentucky, Indiana, and Virginia remain part of the lawsuit.

The qui tam lawsuit, filed January 15, 2010, claims Johnson & Johnson was involved in a kickback scheme to push their antipsychotic drugs, namely Risperdal, on elderly nursing home residents that did not need them. According to the complaint, the drug-maker paid $50 million to Omnicare between 1999 and 2004 to get the company to prescribe Risperdal to elderly patients with dementia. The lawsuit also claims Johnson & Johnson hid those kickbacks as payments for services that Omnicare never actually provided.

To discuss filing a Qui Tam Lawsuit, please contact the Whistleblower lawyers of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP, by calling 202-973-0900.

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