Articles Posted in Kickbacks

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iStock-950594464-300x169A former billing manager brought the misconduct to the attention of the Justice Department by filing a False Claims Act lawsuit.

Medical-testing firm Genotox Laboratories of Austin, Texas has agreed to pay $5.9 million to resolve allegations it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act by paying volume-based commissions to independent sales representatives and specimen collectors.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Genotox compensated sales representatives—whom it referred to as 1099 contractors in reference to their self-employment status under the U.S. Tax Code—based on a percentage of the revenues they generated, including from federal health care programs such as Medicare and Tricare.

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iStock-1093288618-300x188Three Adobe employees filed False Claims Act lawsuits exposing the scheme and will share a $555K whistleblower reward.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by paying illegal kickbacks to software-reseller partners in return for their promotion of the company’s products to government customers.

The U.S. government was fraudulently tricked into purchasing unnecessary software licenses, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged. It was also allegedly deceived into purchasing software bundles containing applications it never requested, and fraudulently billed for software licenses for the personal use of government employees on their home computers.

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iStock-1316693815-300x200A medical device sales representative who filed the False Claims Act lawsuit received a $1.37 million whistleblower award.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) orthopedics and neurosurgery medical device unit DePuy Synthes has agreed to pay $9.75 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by providing illegal kickbacks to an orthopedic surgeon as an incentive for using its products.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the company gave more than $100,000 worth of spinal surgery devices and tools to the Massachusetts doctor, which he  used in surgeries on private patients overseas between July 2013 and February 2018.

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iStock-465505283-300x200The fraud was exposed by a former ModMed executive who filed a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act. He will receive a $9 million whistleblower award.

Florida-based electronic health records firm Modernizing Medicine has paid $45 Million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by paying and receiving kickbacks in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, ModMed partnered with pathology lab firm Miraca Life Sciences to jointly promote ModMed’s cloud-based EHR software and Miraca’s pathology laboratory services through illegal kickbacks.

Miraca previously paid $63.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations relating to the scheme, which was exposed by a whistleblower who filed a lawsuit under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblower—a former ModMed product manager—will receive a whistleblower award of $9 million in connection with the ModMed settlement.

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iStock-1153436387-300x199The settlement follows Cardinal Health’s payment of $13M to resolve related False Claims Act allegations earlier this year

A Florida medical group has paid $130,000 to resolve allegations it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and False Claims Act by knowingly taking illegal kickbacks from pharmaceutical distributor Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH).  The settlement, by the U.S. Department of Justice with Southeast Florida Hematology and Oncology Group, follows Cardinal Health’s payment of $13.1 million back in January to settle related False Claims Act allegations.

The scheme was exposed by two qui tam whistleblowers—a former Cardinal Health executive and a different medical practice in Florida that dealt with the drug distributor.  They shared $2.6 million of the Cardinal Health settlement as a whistleblower award.

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Manufacturer of home respiratory equipment allegedly coaxed DME suppliers to recommend and buy more of its products by furnishing them with two types of kickbacks—HMS prescription data and loan guarantees

Philips Respironics, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE: PHG) and a leading manufacturer of home respiratory equipment, has agreed to pay $26 million to settle two qui tam lawsuits alleging it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and False Claims Act by furnishing kickbacks to durable medical equipment suppliers.

The qui tam relator whose complaint exposed the bulk of the fraud will receive a $4.3 million whistleblower award.

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