Medical Device Legal News with Sam Bernstein: Episode 14
The Justice Insiders: FIFA Corruption Trial – Will the Feds Score Another Goal?
Rob DeConti on the Latest Guidance and Insights from the OIG at HHS
On July 16, 49 attorneys general (AGs) announced that they joined a $202 million settlement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead). Previously announced by the Department of Justice in April, the settlement resolved allegations...more
New York AG Letitia James, along with a bipartisan coalition of 48 other AGs and in coordination with the U.S. DOJ, announced a $202 million settlement in principle with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (“Gilead”), to resolve...more
Jury Clears SuperValu of Liability in Whistleblower FCA Prescription Pricing Case - A federal jury in Illinois recently found SuperValu not liable in a whistleblower lawsuit that accused the company of overcharging the...more
Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic drug manufacturer in the United States, has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute arising from purported...more
Healthcare fraud is an ever-growing constant in our economy. It is a battle that presents new and exponential challenges. The U.S. Department of Justice, the HHS-Office of Inspector general and State Attorneys’ General all...more
Texas Pharmaceutical Marketer Sentenced for $59 Million Medications Fraud Conspiracy - On July 12, Quintan Cockerell, a Texas pharmaceutical marketer, was sentenced to over two years in prison and ordered to pay more than...more
Chicago Laboratory Owner Charged with Defrauding Medicare in $60 Million COVID-19 Test Kit Scheme - The Chicago-based owner of two laboratories, Zoom Labs Inc. and Western Labs Co., has been charged with health care fraud...more
The Florida Board of Pharmacy permits pharmacies serving residents and patients at long-term care facilities (nursing homes, ALFs, homes for DD residents, etc.) as either Special Closed System Pharmacies or Community...more
Federal and state enforcement activity involving pharmacy fraud tops the list of categories in this edition of Rivkin Rounds’ Fraud Week. We’ll list just a sampling of cases....more
On July 20, 2022, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert (Alert) concerning the fraud and abuse risks associated with healthcare practitioners entering...more
Kathryn Isted In Harbor Healthcare System, L.P. v. United States, 5 F.4th 593 (5th Cir. 2021), the court of appeals ruled that the district court abused its discretion in refusing to exercise its equitable jurisdiction over a...more
In United States ex rel. Silver v. Omnicare, Inc., et al. (D.N.J. No. 11-cv-01326), a whistleblower relator consistently alleged that certain pharmaceutical service providers have engaged in an illegal kickback arrangement...more
A federal judge recently ruled that submission of electronic data to the government can, under appropriate circumstances, give rise to liability under the False Claims Act. In U.S. ex rel. Marc Silver et al. v. Omnicare Inc....more
William F. Gould In United States v. Merino, No. 19-50291, 2021 WL 754589 (9th Cir. Feb. 26, 2021), the court of appeals reversed the conviction of Marina Merino of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in violation of 18...more
On August 6, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the conviction of a patient recruiter in a Medicare kickback case, finding insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the recruiter was a “bona...more
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. is in the crosshairs of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on two separate matters. On August 18, the DOJ announced that it filed a lawsuit against Teva and an affiliate, Teva Neuroscience...more
In this installment of the Healthcare Enforcement Quarterly Roundup we cover several topics that have persisted over the past few years and identify new issues that will shape the scope of enforcement efforts in 2020. In this...more
Two charitable foundations that helped patients pay for drug co-payments settled anti-kickback charges for $6 million. The Patient Access Network Foundation (PANF) agreed to pay $4 million and Good Days agreed to pay $2...more
Back in May, we wrote about substantial settlements totaling $125 million to resolve Department of Justice (DOJ) allegations that money donated by Astellas Pharma US, Inc. and Amgen Inc. to drug co-pay charities constituted...more
DOJ Issues Guidance on Ability-to-Pay in False Claims Act Cases - On October 8, 2019, Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski announced new guidance for federal prosecutors evaluating whether a corporation is unable...more
34 Individuals Charged in $258 Million Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Schemes - Twenty-six individuals in the state of California, fourteen of whom were doctors or medical professionals, and eight individuals in Arizona and...more
Podiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulent Billing Scheme - On July 19, 2019, a New York podiatrist was sentenced to 366 days in prison, assessed a $50,000 fine, ordered to pay $869,651 in restitution and forfeit...more
In a bipartisan effort to combat the opioid crisis, H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (the Act), was enacted on October 24,...more
The Medicare Fraud Strike Force initiated its largest ever healthcare enforcement action, charging 412 defendants in July 2017 with approximately $1.3 billion in fraudulent claims. The Strike Force consists of teams that...more
Charitable organizations can easily become enmeshed in Justice Department enforcement issues. We have seen charities used in FCPA cases as a means to funnel bribes to government officials, spouses or family members....more