Monday, February 27, 2006

Defense Contractor blames Accuser in War-Profiteering Trial

Founding partner Michael J. Battles of Custer Battles spent five hours last Friday answering charges in the whistleblower lawsuit being tried in Virginia. Battles testified that he had “zero contact” with the multimillion-dollar currency project in Iraq that has led to accusations of war-profiteering against him and his company. And he disavowed any knowledge of the “fake invoices” and “sham companies” that he and his co-defendants are charged with creating to defraud the US government out of millions of dollars.

Instead, Battles blamed the problems with the Iraqi Currency Exchange project on William D. “Pete” Baldwin, the former employee who helped to craft the charges in the whistleblowers lawsuit now on trial in federal court. Click the following link for the Providence Journal’s story of the federal whistleblower trial.

NC Cardiologist to pay $2.6 Million in Fraud Settlement

A Charlotte cardiologist has agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle a federal lawsuit that alleges he defrauded Medicare for six years, according to an Associated Press report published in Fayetteville Online.

The physician, Amir Hussein, was charged with overbilling the medical program for the elderly and disabled from 1997-2003, which resulted in higher reimbursements from the government than he was entitle to receive. Federal investigators also said Hussein billed Medicare for unnecessary services and sometimes billed twice for the same service.

The settlement money represents the amount of the fraud plus fines. The settlement also requires that he hire a government-approved auditor who will monitor his billing practices for five years. The government said the whistleblower who sued Hussein over his billing practices will receive a portion of the settlement money. The the following link to read the full account of the false claims act settlement.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Office Products Supplier pays $5.02 Million to settle False Claims Action

Corporate Express Office Products has paid the United States $5.02 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims when it sold office supply products manufactured in countries not permitted by the Trade Agreements Act to United States government agencies, the Justice Department announced on Friday.

The Colorado-based company had been charged with selling products from countries that do not have reciprocal trade agreements with the U.S., such as China and Taiwan. Corporate Express was required by its contract with the government’s General Services Administration (GSA) to prevent such items from being offered for sale to U.S. agencies.

The case was filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Safina Office Products and two of its executives, Edward Wilder and Robert Hsi Chou Lee, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2003. Safina, Wilder and Lee will collectively receive approximately $753,000 of the total recovery as their statutory award. Under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, private parties can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or judgment awarded against a defendant.

Click the following link to read the government press release of the whistleblower settlement from US Newswire.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Michigan Governor signs Medicaid Whistleblower Legislation

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed Medicaid Whistleblower Protection legislation into law last week in the hopes of reducing the state’s Medicaid fraud. The legislation was first unveiled in March 2005, and was vigorously supported by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox.

The impact on Michigan could be dramatic. National studies indicate that between 3-10% of a state’s Medicaid costs are fraudulent claims. For Michigan, this equates to anywhere between $225-800 million annually. In addition, the successful prosecution of Medicaid fraud will result in penalties 3 times the amount of the restitution awarded to the state.

Click the following link for the full story on the whistleblower protection legislation from LawRx.com.

Wisconsin Med School Surgeon charged with Conflict of Interest

A prominent University of Wisconsin professor and surgeon has been charged with a conflict of interest for taking a $400,000 consulting contract with a leading medical device producer in exchange for using and endorsing its products.

Dr. Thomas Zdeblick’s contract with Medtronic Inc., one of the world’s largest medical technology companies, began in 1998. It required Zdeblick to work as little as 8 days a year for his $400,000 retainer. Medtronic products were used in many of the back surgeries performed at the hospital, but UW’s administration and patients were never informed of Zdeblick’s relationship with Medtronic.

Details of the contract became public last month when a whistleblower lawsuit filed against Medtronic and 16 surgeons was unsealed in federal court. A former employee of Medtronic alleges that Zdeblick and the other doctors were given lucrative consulting contracts in exchange for using and promoting Medtronic products. Click the following link to read the Milwaukee Journal’s account of this false claims action.

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