Tenet Healthcare Inc., a multinational healthcare services conglomerate worth over $18 billion, and two of its subsidiary companies have committed to pay out a total of $513 million to the United States government after it was revealed to be defrauding federal and state government agencies through an egregious scheme where…
Skilled nursing facilities are institutions that provide rehabilitation, medical, and nursing services for patients on a short or long-term basis. Under the Social Security Act, these types of services are covered by Medicare if they are medically necessary. Unfortunately, some skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes put profits above the…
Assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell called it the “largest single criminal health care fraud case ever brought against individuals by the Department of Justice.” Over a billion dollars-worth of kickbacks, bribes and fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid charges were allegedly orchestrated by Philip Esformes, who owns dozens of retirement facilities throughout…
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted in 1977 and is the most widely enforced anti-corruption law in the United States. The Act was passed in response to the discovery of widespread corruption of foreign officials by companies based in the United States. Within the FCPA, there are two…
A truck driver is receiving thousands in compensation after his employer recently fired him after he refused to violate federal safety regulations in order to make his delivery on time. The driver was making a delivery from Massachusetts to New Jersey when he became concerned he would not complete the…
What if revealing information could land you with millions in rewards? The IRS can award money to those who provide “specific and credible information” to the IRS if the material yields collection of taxes, penalties, interest or other forms of collection from the defiant taxpayer. The IRS is specific in noting…
Often times after older citizens suffer an incapacitating illness or stroke, they require some time to recover in a rehabilitation center. However, there are some cases in which these skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) partake in fraudulent behavior. The way this scam works is often through a type of billing fraud…
A Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of sleep apnea masks is on the hook for millions of dollars due to alleged violations of the False Claims Act. According to the Department of Justice, Respironics Inc. has agreed to pay $34.8 million for paying illegal kickbacks to durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers that purchased…
The U.S. unit of well-known camera and medical device manufacturer, Olympus, has agreed to pay more than $623 million in civil and criminal penalties for violating the U.S. government’s False Claims Act. Prosecutors are calling this the largest anti-kickback settlement to date. The U.S. attorney’s office for the District of…
A whistleblower is a person who exposes an individual, company, or organization engaged in illegal or illicit activity. Since 1970, whistleblowers have been protected from retaliation by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Last month, these protections were enhanced when OSHA issued a revised Whistleblower…