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Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund is a nonprofit, public interest organization dedicated to combating fraud against the Federal Government through the promotion and use of the Federal False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions.

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Common
Types of Fraud:


 


Fast Facts

about the FCA
 


The Government Counts on Whistleblowers: 
More than 80 percent of the False Claims Act cases that are now pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice are initiated by whistleblowers.
 


Cheaters Pay Whistleblower Awards:
Companies cheating the U.S. Government pay whistleblower rewards – not one dime comes from U.S. taxpayers.  The reason for this is that the False Claims Act calls for triple damages so that the Government can be made whole, not only by recouping the cost of whistleblower awards, but also by recovering the cost of investigations, prosecutions, and lost interest.
 


Big Cases Require Big Investments:
Big fraud cases prosecuted under the False Claims Act often require many years of litigation and investigation.  For example, the whistleblower in the first Columbia-HCA fraud case spent 13 years pursuing his False Claims Act lawsuit.  The law firm that spearheaded this case invested more than 85,000 hours in the case.  In the end, the various frauds perpetrated by Columbia-HCA returned over $1.5 billion to the U.S. Treasury.
 


Frivolous Lawsuits are Discouraged:  Because most False Claims Act lawyers work on a contingency basis, they only get paid if they win. This means that they are unlikely to invest time, money and energy building a case that they themselves do not feel will be productive.  In addition, under the False Claims Act, a complainant can be required to pay the defendants attorney’s fees if the court finds that the claim was frivolous or brought primarily for purposes of harassment.
 


The False Claims Act Provides Some Employment Protections: 
If an employee is fired, demoted, harassed, or otherwise discriminated against for filing a False Claims Act suit, the law provides for reinstatement, double back pay, and compensation for special damages, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.
 


Drug Company Frauds are Pervasive and Large: 
Over 180 pharmaceutical fraud cases, covering more than 500 drugs, are now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice under the False Claims Act. 

Settlement of just 16 drug manufacturing cases returned over $4 billion to the U.S. Government and the 50 states.

 


Routine Mistakes and  Errors are Not  Prosecuted Under the  False Claims Act:
The False Claims Act is not used to correct minor billing mistakes or errors, as these frauds are not systematic and rarely amount to truly large sums of money.   


 

Major Cases Under Watch:  


Nominal Pricing Fraud:
FCA cases involving violations of the nominal pricing exception have been filed.  Possible cases involve statins, proton pump inhibitors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and others.

 

Iraq War Fraud:  Numerous large cases dealing with contractor fraud in Iraq are reported to be under investigation, but remain under seal.

 

Anti-Psychotic Drugs:  Investigations about the off-label marketing of Zyprexa, Risperdal and Seroquel are under way.   These three drugs represented combined sales of $12 billion in 2006. 
 

Average Wholesale Price Fraud:  The U.S. Government has joined three cases likely to go to trial this summer:  Abbott, Dey and Roxane Pharmaceuticals.  More than 50 other companies face similar charges in Boston.

 

Outlier Fraud:  Several large outlier fraud investigations against hospitals are under investigation.

 

Newsletters


August 20, 2010
n
WellCare to Settle for $137 Million?
n Nelnet to Pay $55 Million
n Grand Canyon Education Pays $5.2 Million
n States Strengthen False Claims Acts
n
The Pharma Fraud Show
n Indiana A.G. Calls for More Whistleblowers to Come Forward

August 5, 2010
n
HP to Pay $50 Million
n At Tenet, It's Déjà Vu All Over Again
n Privatizing the Profit
n For Profit Colleges Encouraging Fraud

July 26, 2010
n
Teva Pharmaceuticals Pays $169 Million
n Whistleblower Incentives Key to Financial Reform
n Sodexo School Lunch Fraud
n A Missing $8.7 Billion in Iraq

July 20, 2010
n Elan Says It Will Settle for Over $203 Million
n The Payola Room
n HHS Wants to Exclude Executives
n National Cardio Labs Pays $3.6 Million
n
Planned Parenthood Case Reinstate

June 28, 2010
n
Wellcare Health Plans FCA Case Is Unsealed
n Northrop Pays $12.5 Million
n Indiana to Join FCA Lawsuit
n Dry Milk Diversion FCA Lawsuit

June 22, 2010
n
HHS Wants to Exclude Executives
n
Colorado Passes FCA
n Supreme Court Rejects Cert
n U.S. Joins Suit Against Oracle
n IRS Whistleblower Web Site

June 7, 2010
n Tuomey Must Pay $45 Million
n
St. Jude's Kickbacks
n University of Texas Under Investigation
n SBA Lender to Pay $26 Millio

May 14, 2010
n
Eric Holder Brags on Success
n Whistleblowing Isn't Easy or Fun
n Novartis to Pay $72 Million
n S
BA Lender to Pay $26 Million
n Novartis to Pay $72 Million
n U.S. and 33 States Join FCA Case Against Wyeth

April 30, 2010
n AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million
n Ortho-McNeil to Pay $81 Million
n Schwarz to Pay $22 Million
n Grassley Cautions OIG, States

April 19, 2010
n Maryland False Claims Act Signed Into Law
n Guidant to Pay $296 Million
n Abbott Must Produce Emails
n Learning Tree to Pay $4.5 Million
n
An American Scheme

April 6, 2010
n ExxonMobil to Pay $32 Million for Fraud... and No Taxes in FY 2009
n DoJ Joins Against KBR in Iraq
n SD of NY Forming Civil Fraud Unit
n Whistle-blowers Find More Fraud than Regulators
n NJ Hospital to Pay $6.35 Million

March 23, 2010
n
Health Care Bill Strengthens False Claims Act:  Bill Sharpens Teeth of Primary Federal Fraud-fighting Tool

March 18, 2010
n
Alpharma to Pay $42.5 Million  
n Mass. Joins Suit Against J&J
n Stimulus Under Investigation
n DoJ Needs More Resources
n Davis Bacon Triggers an FCA

March 8, 2010
n
EMC to Pay $87.5 Million  
n Two Nursing Homes Settle
n
Healthcare is Over 50 Percent Waste and Fraud?
n Swedish Rubber Co. to Settle
n Staffing Firm Prepares for Possible Settlement
n Christiana Care Health Systems Settles for $3.3 Million
n Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center to Pay $2.92 Million
n New True Crime Thriller on the Bernie Madoff Fraud

February 23, 2010
n
Teva Pharmaceuticals to Pay $315 Million
n Massive PVC Pipe Fraud Leads to Federal, State & Local Cases
n Eon Labs Pays U.S. $3.5 Million
n Hospital to Pay $2.79 Million
n Lincoln Law Collects in Lincoln Fabric Fraud Case

February 3, 2010
n
Novartis To Plead Guilty
n Major Drug Cases in the Wings
n Will Stimulus Money See Repeat Players in the Game of Fraud?
n Atricure to Pay U.S. $3.76 Million
n A Smoking Gun PowerPoint

January 25, 2010
n
DoJ Joins Case Against Johnson & Johnson
n Bile Stents Marketed Off-label
n
Boston Scientific To Pay $22 Million
n New Jersey FCA Used to Go After Fraud at Methadone Clinics
n Dental Company Nailed for $24 Million Medicaid Fraud
n Iraq Fraud Settlement on Horizon?

January 13, 2010
n
Chevron to Pay $45 Million
n First IRS Whistleblower Payment
n Physicians to Pay $9.5 Million
n St. John to Pay $13 Million
n Lamborghinis and Yachts

December 22, 2009
n
University of Phoenix to Pay $78.5 Million
n Schering-Plough Pays $69 Million
n NY Home Health Fraudsters to Pay $24 Million
n Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services to Pay $8 Million

December 4, 2009
n
Four Companies pay $39 Million to Settle California Whistleblower Case
n NJ Hospital Pays $3 Million
n Sports Clinic Pays $3  Million
n
Three FCA Cases In Orbit

November 24, 2009
n DoJ Recovers Over $5.6 Billion But Announces Just $2.4 Billion
n S
upreme Court Takes Up FCA Case
n Merck Wins Summary Judgment
n DoJ Joins Katrina-related Suit
n NJ Hospital to Pay $3 Million

November 17, 2009
n
Massive Food Fraud in Iraq
n
$47 Billion in Medicare Bad Billing?
n Tenet's Sulzbach vs.  the U.S.
n
Lilly to Pay Utah $24 Million
n Whistleblower Given No Credit

November 10, 2009
n
Guidant Agrees to Pay $296 million
n Omnicare and Ivax Pay $112 Million for Kickbacks
n Defective Bunker Buster Fuses
n Abbott Faces Depakote Probe
n An SEC Whistleblower Bill on the Horizon?

November 2, 2009
n
Astra Zeneca Reserves $520 Million for Seroquel Settlement
n Fifteen States Join Amgen FCA
n Enforcement Resources Needed
n Texas Hospital Group to Pay $27 Million
n Senators Introduce Anti-Fraud Bill
n Stryker Biotech Indicted Over Product Promotion
n Energy Saving Fraud?
n Apollo Reserves $80.5 Million 

October 20, 2009
n Massive California Pension Fraud Alleged
n Mylan to Pay $121 Million
n
MPC Products to Pay $25 Million
n AstraZeneca Hit With $14.7 Million Verdict in Kentucky
n Alabama Supreme Court Overturns Three Jury Verdicts Against Pharma
n E-Rate Fraud Settlement
n Over 1,000 Qui Tams in Backlog
n IRS Whistleblower Stats
 

October 15, 2009
Taxpayers Against Fraud 2009 Award Winners
n Lawyer of the Year:
Frederick M. Morgan, Jennifer M. Verkamp, Scott A. Powell, and Don McKenna
n Whistleblower of the Year: Thomas Cantor
n
Honest Abe Integrity in Government Award to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Congressman J
ames Sensenbrenner
 

September 30, 2009
n
Lilly settles with Eight States
n More Kyphon Settlements
n Alan Grayson on Bigger Fish
n Payola Politics and the FDA?
n Nelnet Whistleblower 
n Fruit Company Settles FCA
n CRS on the FCA


September 22, 2009
n Arizona Settles AWP Drug Cases
n SAIC Faces Potential $230 Million Liability
n Massachusetts Sues Housing Developer
n Pinkerton to pay $1 million in FCA case
 

September 15, 2009
n Biovail to Pay $25 Million
n An FCA for Wall Street?
n Top 15 Drugs Sales in 2008

September 2, 2009
n Pfizer Settles Largest False Claims Act Case Ever
 

August 25, 2009
n
Quest Diagnostics Pays Another $12.5 Million
n Covenant Pays $4.5 Million
n Jim Sheehan Seeks Dead People
n Convicted Murderer Pleads Guilty to Medicare False Claims
n GPOs Under the Glass
 

August 14, 2009
n
Westchester Must Build Housing to Help End Discrimination
n Boeing to Pay in Two Cases
n Dynamics to Pay $15 Million
n Katrina Case Moves Forward
n Profile In Integrity

August 6, 2009
n
State Zyprexa Deal in the Wings
n Baxter Pays $6.8 Million to IL
n Computer Assets to Pay $350,000
n Tulare Healthcare Settlement
n Allegran's Botox Problem

July 21, 2009
n NY State and NY City Pay Record Medicaid Settlement
n Excluded Doc Bills Millions
n Lockheed Faces Suit Over F-35
n Spinal Fraud on National Scale
n Florida Doctor Pays $1.7 Million
n Foreign Banks Kick Out U.S. Tax Cheats
n
Six-fold FCA Dam
 

July 14, 2009
n The F-22's Defective Skin
n Burn Bags Mean Smoke and Fire
n An SEC Whistleblower Program?
n Michigan Medicaid Inspector General?
n Did DoJ Settlement With Beazer Send the Wong Message?
n Robbing Medicare and Medicaid Is Better Than Robbing Banks
 

July 7, 2009
n DoJ Joins Suit Against SAIC
n Massive DME Fraud Scheme

n Yale Hospital Pays $3 Million
n Beazer to Pay Many Millions

n LSU Pay $700,000
n An SEC  Whistleblower Program?
 

June 30, 2009
n Major Settlements Ahead
n Major Cases in the Backlog
n
Major Cases Settled So Far This Year

June 16, 2009
n Bone Growth Fraud?
n DoJ Files on Mortgage Fraud
n WV Seeks $2 Billion from Lilly
n New Jersey University Pays $2 Million for Double Billing
n Oklahoma Ortho Center to Pay $3.5 Million
n Hawaiian Hospital Settles FCA

June 3, 2009
n Aventis Settles for $95.5 Million
n Pogue Case Against Healthways Settles for $40 Million
n Crooks Worry About Tougher FCA
n Senator Charles Grassley on Bipartisan Support for Amendments to the False Claims Act
n Documents Show AstraZeneca Off-label Marketed Seroquel
n URS Unit Pays $1.7 Million
n Alabama Hits Hard
 

May 22, 2009
n
President Signs False Claims Act Amendments Into Law
n
AstraZeneca Faces Heat
n DoJ's Tony West Says FCA Enforcement a High Priority
n Regency Pays $4 Million
n HealthEast to Pay $2.3 Million
n Minnesota Gets a State FCA
 

May 12, 2009
n President Signs False Claims Act
Amendments Into Law

 

May 12, 2009
n
House Strengthens FCA
n DoJ Joins Lawsuit Against Wyeth over Protonix
n More For Your Money With the FCA
n DoJ Budget Increase
n The High Cost of Low Morals

May 6, 2009
n
House Passes Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act:  367 to 59


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


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TAF E-News

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WellCare to Settle for $137 Million?
WellCare Health Plans says it has reached a $200 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit and a $137.5 million preliminary deal with the U.S. Department of Justice Department on False Claims Act charges. The company paid $80 million last year to settle a Florida Medicaid fraud case.  The current FCA case was brought by former WellCare analyst Sean Hellein who wore a wire for 18 months as part of an undercover investigation which produced more than 1,000 hours of audio and video surveillance. Hellein's FCA complaint claimed WellCare stole $400 million to $600 million, and notes the company  held a celebratory dinner to honor those who successfully disenrolled 425 infants.  >> To read more | Aug. 20, 2010


Nelnet to Pay $55 Million

Nelnet has agreed to pay $55 million to settle a False Claims Act case alleged the company had defrauded the government as part of a student loan subsidy program.  The lawsuit was brought by former U.S. Education Department specialist Jon Oberg.  >> To read more | Aug. 20, 2010

States Strengthen False Claims Acts

New York and Illinois have strengthened their state False Claims Acts to comply with the federal government's Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA).  The New York Act, spearheaded by Senator Eric. T. Schneiderman, now also allows qui tam plaintiffs to bring actions for tax fraud when the net income or sales of the defendant total $1 million or more and the damages pleaded in the action exceed $350,000.
| Aug. 20, 2010
The Pharma Fraud Show
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has put together a 25-minutes video which notes that "the United States healthcare industry is the world’s biggest – with $300 billion a year spent on prescription drugs alone, and rising. But recent months have seen health scandal after health scandal, with some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies fined billions of dollars  These cases are beginning to reveal vast corruption in the drug industry, with revelations of fraud, of cover-ups of fatal side effects and huge kickbacks paid to doctors." >> To see the video
| Aug. 20, 2010

At Tenet, It's Déjà Vu All Over Again
Tenet may be in deep trouble again.  The company, which has repeatedly had the largest False Claims Act cases ever settled, is now under investigation for billing Medicare for heart defibrillator implant surgeries.  The case (or cases) appear to be related to DoJ investigations of Medtronic and St Jude Medical for matters surrounding implantable cardiac defibrillators.  Tenet said it anticipates that more of its hospitals may receive similar information requests, suggesting a wide-spread pattern of kickbacks.  >> To read more 
| Aug. 5, 2010

 


HP to Pay $50 Million
Hewlett Packard Co. says it has reached a settlement agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve an investigation into alleged kickbacks paid between HP, Sun Microsystems, and Accenture.  HP will pay about $50 million to settle two lawsuits alleging HP submitted false claims to the U.S. government.  >> To read more
| Aug. 5, 2010

Whistleblower Incentives Key
to Financial Reform
The new financial reform bill signed into law by President Obama, provides for a whistleblower  awards of 10 to 30 percent of what the government recoups in fines and settlements in financial fraud cases, provided the whistleblower comes forward with original information to the SEC.  >> To read more
| July 26, 2010
 

Sodexo School Lunch Fraud
Sodexo has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a False Claims Act case involving pocketed food service rebates involving 21 New York school districts and the State University of New York system. NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating the rebating practices of other corporate food service providers.  >> To read more | July 26, 2010

Teva Pharmaceuticals Pays $169 Million

Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $169 million to the Federal government, Texas, Florida and California in order to settle a False Claims Act case filed by Ven-a-Care of the Florida Keys charging the company with violating Medicaid best-price rules.
| July 26, 2010


Elan Says It Will Settle for Over $203 Million

The Elan Corporation says it has reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle a False Claims Act case dealing with the sales and marketing of Zonegran, an antiepileptic prescription medicine.  Elan has set aside $206.3 million in a litigation reserve. >>To read more | July 20, 2010


HHS Wants to Exclude Executives
The Office of the Inspector General of Health and Human Services says it is finding support for legislation that would allow it to exclude any worker — past or present — found responsible for Medicare fraud.  Lew Morris, chief counsel for the Office of Inspector General (OIG), says it's time to exclude executives who greenlight massive fraud schemes under their watch.  >> To read more | July 20, 2010

Whistleblowing Isn't Easy or Fun
An article by Aaron S. Kesselheim
and co-authors, in the May 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, notes that False Claims Act whistleblowing isn't easy, with most relators losing their jobs, and other experience extreme economic, marital, and psychological stress.  >> To read the report
| May 28, 2010

Eric Holder Brags on Success
At a recent health care fraud press conference held with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Attorney General Eric Holder noted that DoJ was prosecuting record numbers of health care fraud cases and that the Civil Division "opened nearly 900 new civil health care fraud investigations and had more than 1,100 pending cases."  >> To read more | May 28, 2010
 
Novartis to Pay More Than $72 Million
Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals, have agreed to pay over $72 million to settle a False Claims Act case charging a predecessor company, Chiron, with off-label marketing of the cystic fibrosis drug TOBI.  The federal share of the
settlement is $43.5 million, with $29 million go to the states. >> To read more | May 28, 2010

Ortho-McNeil to Pay $81 Million
Ortho-McNeil-Janssen has agreed to pay $81 million to settle False Claims Act charges that the company was engaged in off-label marketing of Topamax, a drug approved to treat seizures.  The FCA complaints allege Ortho-McNeil paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe the drug for such off-label uses as eating disorders, weight loss, alcohol dependence, and anxiety disorders.  Whistleblowers Angela Maher and Anastasia Savka-Klovski and Dr. Gary R. Spivack will share in the relator awards.
>> To read more  >> Complaint and settlement.

| April 28, 2010

Schwarz Pharma to Pay $22 Million

Schwarz Pharma Inc. will pay $22 million to settle a False Claims Act case charging the company with marketing two unapproved drugs, Deponit and Hyoscyamine Sulfate Extended Release (Hyoscyamine Sulfate ER). The federal share of the settlement is $12.24 million, and the state Medicaid share of the settlement is $9.76 million. Under the settlement, the two whistleblowers, Constance Conrad and James Conrad will receive a total of $1,836,575 from the federal share and additional amounts from the state share. | April 28, 2010


AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million for Seroquel

AstraZeneca has agreed to pay $520 million to settle a False Claims Act case charging the company with off-label marketing of the atypical anti-psychotic drug Seroquel.  Three previous off-label atypical anti-psychotic drug cases have already settled (Lilly's Zyprexa, Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal, and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Abilify).  In this settlement,
the federal government will receive $302 million and the states will receive $218 million.  The two relators in the case were Dr. Stefan Kruszewski and James Wetta. This is the largest purely civil off-label marketing settlement.  >> To read more>> To read the complaint or settlement | April 27, 2010


Maryland False Claims Act Signed Into Law

On April 13,
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed into law the Maryland False Claims Act which lawmakers expect will save the state millions of dollars.  Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia now have state False Claims Acts
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who led the O’Malley Administration’s efforts to pass the Maryland FCA, said the new law will put Maryland “in a better position than most states to implement national health reform.” >> To read more |  April 19, 2010

Abbott Must Produce Emails

Abbott Laboratories must produce emails written over the course of a 12-year period by its CEO and two others in a Depakote probe involving off-label marketing and kickbacks. 
>> To read more
|  April 19, 2010

Guidant to Pay $296 Million
Guidant had pled guilty to criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for failing to report "catastrophic failures" in three models of its surgically implantable heart defibrillators. >> To read more
|  April 19, 2010

Alpharma to Pay $42.5 Million
  
Alpharma Inc. has agreed to pay $42.5 million to settle a  False Claims Act case charging the company with kickbacks in connection with the sale of morphine-based drug, Kadian.  The drug company also misrepresented the safety and efficacy of the drug
.  Though a settlement has been reached, HHS has expressly reserved the right "to institute, direct, or to maintain any administrative action seeking exclusion against Alpharma and/or King, and/or their officers, directors, and employees, from Medicare, Medicaid, and all other Federal health care programs."  >> To read more |  March 18, 2010


Novartis To Plead Guilty With
$397 Million
in Litigation Reserves
Swiss drug maker Novartis has said it will plead guilty to criminal fraud charges related to the company's off-label promotion of the epilepsy drug Tripletail, and will pay a $185 million fine.  Novartis' Trileptal problems are only part of the equation, however; Novartis is also being investigated for kickbacks and off-label marketing related to Diovan, Exforge, Sandostatin, Tekturna and Zelnorm.  In a sign that a global settlement may be at hand, Novartis has said that it has increased its litigation reserve from $318 million to $397 million.
>> To read more
|  Jan 25, 2010


DoJ Joins Case Against J & J
DoJ has joined two False Claims Act cases against drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, alleging the companies paid millions in kickbacks to Omnicare in order to get Omnicare to operate as an "extension of [Johnson & Johnson] sales force" in dispensing the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal to nursing home patients. >>
To read more |  Jan 25, 2010


Chevron to Pay $45 Million
Chevron has said it will pay $45.5 million to settle a False Claims Act case charging the company with underpaying royalties for natural gas pumped from wells on federal and Indian land.  The lawsuit was originally filed in 1996 by Harrold Wright, who is now deceased.  Mr. Wright's $12.3 million relator's share will go to his heirs.  >> To read more
|  Jan 13, 2010


First IRS Whistleblower Payment
The law offices of  Kenney & McCafferty report the first major IRS Whistleblower Office payment of $5.5 million to one of their clients for his work in reporting a major tax fraud seven years ago. This is a partial payment; even more money is to be recovered ahead! >> To read more
|  Jan 13, 2010


Dental Company Nailed for
$24 Million Medicaid Fraud

National Dental Management Company has agreed to pay $24 million to resolve three FCA cases charging the company with billing for medically unnecessary dental services performed on children insured by Medicaid.  Three relators will split $2.4 million from the federal share of the settlement.  >>
To read more
|  Jan 25, 2010


Big Iraq Settlement on Horizon?
A $600 million Iraq war fraud settlement may be on the horizon. Kuwait's Public Warehousing Company (also known as Agility) appears to have told Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas that the company expects to pay between $500 million and $600 million to settle a food-fraud case, provided the U.S. Government agrees to the terms.  >>
To read more |  Jan 25, 2010


Boston Scientific To Pay $22 Million

Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $22 million to resolve a False Claims Act case in which its Guidant subsidiary was charged with paying kickbacks of $1,000 to $1,500 to doctors in order to get them to use their heart pacemakers. >> To read more |  Jan 25, 2010


University of Phoenix to Pay $78.5 Million
The University of Phoenix has agreed to pay $67.5 million to the U.S. Government, plus $11 million in private attorneys’ fees, to settle a case filed by two whistleblower who accused the school of violating Dept. of Education rules prohibiting schools from accepting federal student financial aid while paying admissions counselors cash incentives based on the number of students recruited.  This is the second-largest FCA settlement in a non-intervened case.  >> To read more |  Dec 22, 20
09


Schering-Plough Pays $69 Million

Schering-Plough has agreed to pay $69 million to settle FCA lawsuits in which the company is charged with inflating the price of Albuterol and other drugs in order to collect millions of dollars in overpayments from California and Florida's Medicaid programs.  The lawsuits were filed by Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys on behalf of California, Florida, and the federal government, and were 11 years coming to resolution. >> To read more |  Dec 22, 2009


New York City Home Health Care
Companiesto Pay $24 Million

Three New York City home health agencies have agreed to pay $24 million to settle False Claims Act cases charging the companies with overcharging Medicaid for services provided by hundreds of home health aides who had little or no required training.  >> To read more  |  Dec 22, 2009

Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care
Services to Pay $8 Million

Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services Inc., the parent company of two New Jersey hospitals, has agreed to pay $8 million to resolve allegations the hospitals defrauded Medicare by unnecessarily inflating charges to obtain “outlier payments.” >>
To read more
|  Dec 22, 2009


DoJ Recovers Over $5 billion But Announces Just $
2.4 Billion in "Official" FCA Recoveries
Fiscal Year 2009 has been a record year in False Claims Act recoveries, with
well over $5.6 billion in overall recoveries announced.  So why do "official" DoJ numbers show only $2.4 billion in False Claims Act recoveries?  Simple:  The U.S. Department of Justice does not count criminal recoveries (in the Pfizer matter alone, this was $1 billion), nor do they count money disbursed to the states in settlements (about 45% of all money collected in Medicaid cases), nor do they count money not actually collected this Fiscal Year. Bottom line:  Total "official" False Claims Act recoveries in 2009 were $2.4 billion, though more than $5 billion in False Claims Act case recoveries were announced by Uncle Sam and the States. |  Nov 19, 2009 


Omnicare and Ivax Pay $112 Million;
DoJ Proceeds Against Nursing Home Chains
DoJ has announced a $112 million settlement with Omnicare, to resolve multiple whistleblower lawsuits related to kickbacks. The FCA lawsuits allege Johnson & Johnson paid Omnicare and two nursing home chains so doctors would prescribe Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug, to nursing home patients for which it was an improper medication.  In addition, IVAX Pharmaceuticals paid $8 million in kickbacks to Omnicare to facilitate a drug-switching scheme.  Finally,
Omnicare, and two nursing home chains conspired to have Omnicare pay $50 million in exchange for Omnicare getting the contract to deliver pharmacy services to the nursing homes. >> To read the DoJ Press Release |  Nov 3, 2009


Fifteen States Join Amgen CA
No longer content to always let Uncle Sam lead in the war against fraud, 15 state Attorneys General have come out swinging, joining a massive False Claims Act lawsuit against Amgen, charging the company with a systematic program of kickbacks designed to increase Medicaid costs through the illegal promotion of anti-anemia drug Aranesp.  >> To read more
|  Nov 2, 2009


Texas Hospitals to Pay $27 Million
South Texas Health Systems has agreed to pay $27.5 million to settle claims it paid kickbacks to doctors who referred patients to hospitals within the group.
Whistleblower Bruce Moilan will receive $5.5 million for his help in prosecuting the case. >> To read more |  Nov 2, 2009


Senators Introduce Anti-Fraud Bill
Senators
Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senators Arlen Specter (D-PA), Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), have introduced the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act of 2009 which would increase sentencing guidelines for health care fraud, clarify that health care crimes are considered fraud no matter where they are codified in the law, clarify that health care kickbacks are false claims under the False Claims Act, and restore the original intent as to scienter, while increasing antifraud enforcement funding by $20 million per year through 2016.  >> To read more
|  Nov 2, 2009


Stryker Faces Promotion
Investigation

A federal grand jury has indicted Stryker Biotech in a case involving two devices made for spinal and long bone surgeries which were promoted for applications that were not approved by the FDA.  >> To read more |  Nov 2, 2009

 


Apollo Reserves $80.5 Million 

The University of Phoenix (Apollo Systems) has taken a pre-tax charge of $80.5 million in expectation of settling an FCA case dealing with illegal incentive recruitment.  In FY the University of Phoenix derived 86 percent of $3.77 billion in revenue from federal grants and loans, up from 48 percent in 2001 >> To read more |  Nov 2, 2009

 


Massive California Pension Fraud Alleged
California Attorney General Jerry Brown has joined a False Claims Act suit against State Street Bank alleging almost $200 million in illegal overcharges and penalties charged to CALPERS, the largest U.S. defined-benefit public pension fund, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. >>
To read more |  Oct 20, 2009


Mylan to Pay $121 Million

Mylan, a generic drug maker, has agreed to pay $121 million to settle a long-standing False Claims Act case brought by Ven-a-Care of the Florida Keys. >> To read more |  Oct 20, 2009


MPC Products Corp. Pays $25 Million
MPC Products, a Skokie, Illinois defense contractor which supplies the military with parts used in fighter jets and  helicopters, has agreed to pay a fine and damages totaling $25 million to resolve allegations it overcharged the government for more than a decade.  The whistleblower in this case, Joe Caputo, will receive $4.5 million as his share of the award. >>
To read more |  Oct 20, 2009


$14.7 Million AstraZeneca Verdict in KY
AstraZeneca has been hit with a $14.7 million jury verdict in Kentucky for inflating the cost of prescription drugs sold to the state's Medicaid program. 
  This was not a False Claims Act case, as Kentucky still has no state False Claims Act. >> To read more |  Oct 20, 2009


Alabama Supreme
Overturns Three
Jury Verdicts
 Against Pharma
Without benefit of hearing oral argument, the
Alabama Supreme Court has overturned three jury verdicts against AstraZeneca ($215 million reduced post-trial to $160 million), GlaxoSmithKline ($81 million), and Novartis ($33 million).  In a 44-page opinion the Court held there was no basis for the state's fraud claims as the State knew that Average Wholesale Price was, in fact, not a true wholesale price average.  The court ruling does not affect the $138 million in settlements the state has reached with other pharmaceutical companies in the AWP litigation.  >> To read more |  Oct 20, 2009


Over 1,000 Qui Tam Cases in Backlog

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) notes that over 1,000 qui tam cases remain backlogged, and that of this number, 985 are health care qui tam cases, including 200 that have to do with pharmaceutical pricing and marketing.  Another 205 qui tam cases allege procurement fraud against the Department of Defense.  >>
To read more |  Oct 20, 2009


Pfizer Settles Largest FCA Case Ever

Pfizer and its subsidiary, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company have agreed to pay the U.S. Government over $2.3 billion to settle a series of False Claims Act cases involving the illegal promotion of several drugs. This is the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Of the $2.3 billion settlement, $1.3 billion is a criminal fine and forfeiture related to the fraudulent off-label marketing of Bextra.  This $1.3 billion criminal fine is the largest ever imposed in the U.S.

A total of $1 billion
will be paid to settle civil False Claims Act liabilities involving the following drugs:

  • Bextra (an anti-inflammatory drug)

  • Geodon (an anti-psychotic drug)

  • Lipitor (a cholesterol drug)

  • Norvasc (anti-hypertensive drug)

  • Viagra (erectile dysfunction)

  • Zithromax (antibiotic)

  • Zyrtec (antihistamine)

  • Zyvox (an antibiotic)

  • Lyrica (an anti-epileptic drug)

  • Relpax (anti-migraine drug)

  • Celebrex (anti-inflammatory drug)

  • Depo-provera (birth control)

Of the $1 billion paid to settle False Claims Act claims, $668,514,830 will go to the Federal Government, and $331,485,170 will go to the states.

Of the $1 billion paid under the FCA, the sums work out as follows:

  • Bextra: $502,524,316

  • Geodon: $301,462,065

  • Zyvox: $97,945,019

  • Lyrica: $48,223,886

  • Kickback Drugs: $49,844,714

A total of six whistleblowers and their attorneys will receive payments totaling more than $102 million from the federal share of the civil recovery, with additional money to flow as a result of parallel False Claims Act cases filed at the state level.  The six relators and their share are:

  • John Kopchinski: $51,500,999

  • Stefan Kruszewski: $29,013,420

  • Ronald Rainero: $9,321,369

  • Glenn DeMott: $7,431,505

  • Dana Spencer: $2,743,637

  • Blair Collins: $2,354,582

Whistleblower John Kopchinski brought off-label marketing allegations regarding Bextra, and his case represents $1.8 billion of the total. Mr. Kopchinski was represented by Washington Attorney Erika Kelton of the law firm of Phillips and Cohen, and his relator's share under the federal FCA is $51.5 million.

Whistleblower Dr. Stefan Kruszewsi brought allegations regarding the off-label marketing of Geodon.  Dr. Kruszewski was represented by Pennsylvania attorneys Brian Kenney and Tavy Deming of the law firm of Kenney, Egan McCafferty & Young and W. Scott Simmer and Thomas J. Poulin of Blank Rome.

Whistleblower Glenn DeMott brought off-label allegations regarding Geodon, Lyrica, Relpax, Celebrex, Bextra, and Depo-provera.  Mr. DeMott was represented by Grant & Eisenhofer attorneys Reuben Guttman, John Kairis, and Traci Buschner, as well as Ann Lugbill, Michael Anderson and  Mark Hanna of Murphy Anderson.

Whistleblower Blair Collins brought kickback allegations regarding Lipitor, Norvasc, Viagra, Zithromax, and Zyrtec to the U.S. Government's attention. Mr. Collins was represented by Boston attorneys Suzanne E. Durrell, Robert M. Thomas, Jr. and Rory Delaney.

Whistleblower Ronald Rainero, represented by Philadelphia attorneys Stephen A. Sheller, James J. Pepper, and Brian J. McCormick of Sheller P.C., brought off-label allegations regarding Zyvox.    

Pfizer is not yet out of the woods as far as the False Claims Act is concerned.  Earlier this year, the U.S. Government joined a case against Wyeth involving kickbacks and pricing violations in the sale of Protonix, an acid reflux drug.  Pfizer acquired Wyeth in August, and now owns that potential liability. " |  Sept 2, 2009


NY State and NY City Pay
Record Medicaid Settlement
New York State and City have agreed to pay $540 million to settle a false claims case in which the state and city were accused of improperly billing Medicaid for student speech, physical and occupational therapy, psychological counseling and transportation costs. This is the largest Medicaid False Claims Act case in history.  >> To read more (PDF) | July 21, 2009


Forest Reserves $170 Million
Forest Laboratories has set aside $170 million to settle a False Claims Act case related to the kickbacks paid to doctors for off-label prescription of the antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro to children as well as the off-label marketing of Levothroid. Forest notes that "there can be no assurance that the amount reserved by the Company will be sufficient and that a larger material amount will not be required." >> To read more | May 5, 2009


DoJ Joins HSUS Bad Meat Lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a False Claims Act lawsuit filed by the U.S. Humane Society against a Southern California slaughterhouse whose workers were videotaped pushing "downer" cows down a chute to be processed for meat. Westland-Hallmark Meat Co. was, at one time, the second largest supplier of hamburger meat to the National School Lunch Program, and fraudulently certified that no meat from  "downer" cows entered the food supply.
>> To read more | May 5, 2009


Northrop to Pay $325 Million in Satellite Case
Northrop Grumman has agreed to pay $325 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit that alleged TRW (now owned by Northrop) made defective parts for spy satellites that resulted in serious malfunctions and expensive fixes, all charged to U.S. taxpayers. The Northrop settlement is the largest military-procurement fraud whistleblower case to date, and was brought by Robert Ferro, an Aerospace Corp. official who first discovered the problem in 1995 and brought it to TRW's attention. The problem went uncorrected and satellites failed.  When TRW engaged in a cover up, Mr. Ferro decided to blow the whistle, and he will be awarded $48.7 million for his work, and the work of his attorneys, in bringing the case.  >> To read more | April 10, 2009


TAF Testifies in Support of FCA Amendments
TAF President Jeb White testified before the House Judiciary Committee in support of H.R. 1788, the False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2009, noting that the bill would "significantly enhance the Government’s ability to identify, prosecute and deter fraud on U.S. Government programs" by closing and correcting a number of loopholes that fraud-feasors have used and abused to drain billions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury.  The FCA Corrections Act would also modernize the law to address new types of fraudulent schemes, and clarify procedural questions, while strengthening the Government’s Civil Investigative Demand authority. >> To read the testimony (PDF)
| April 2, 2009


California Sues Seven Labs 
California is suing seven private medical labs, alleging they cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars by overcharging Medi-Cal by as much as 400 percent.  The whistleblower in this case is Chris Riedel, CEO of Hunter Laboratories, who refused to join in the price-gouging practices.  The seven defendants are: Quest Diagnostics; Health Line Clinical Labs; W
estcliff Medical Labs; Physicians Immunodiagnostic Laboratory; Whitefield Medical Laboratory; Seacliff Diagnostics Medical Group, and; Laboratory Corporation of America. >> To read the complaint (PDF) | April 2, 2009


Risperdal Marketed Off-label
Three former salespeople have filed suit against Pharmaceutica alleging the company engaged in off-label marketing of antipsychotic drug Risperdal.  According to the lawsuit, company salespeople were encouraged to push the drug to doctors as a treatment for bipolar disorder and depression. Risperdal generated $3.4 billion in sales in 2008.  >>
To read more
| March 17, 2009


FCA Recoveries Over $25 Billion
Total False Claims Act recoveries (Federal and State) since the 1986 amendments now total over $25 billion. To put this into perspective, the $25 billion recovered from fraud-feasors to date represents a stack of $100 bills more than 25 miles high.  In the health care arena, the U.S. Government is recovering $15 back for every $1 invested in False Claims Act health care investigations and prosecutions. | Oct. 1, 2009
 


Massive Amgen Fraud Case

An unidentified whistleblower has filed a False Claims Act case against Amgen, the biotechnology company which makes arthritis and psoriasis drug Enbrel, and anti-anemia drug Aranesp. Amerisource-Bergen and online health-information provider WebMD Health Corp are also named.  The case came out from under seal at a judge's directive, and DoJ is still deciding if it will join. The case involves off-label marketing, kickbacks and Medicaid best price violations.  >> To read more | March 10, 2009


US Joins Against NM Hospitals
DoJ has joined a False Claims Act case against Community Health Systems Inc., and three of its hospitals in New Mexico. CHS is charged with violating the FCA by knowingly causing to be presented false claims for federal matching Medicaid funds.  CHS paid New Mexico counties knowing that the money would then be used to illegally obtain triple that amount in federal funding, which would then be paid back to CHS under New Mexico's Medicaid program.  >> To read more   | March 10, 2009


Pharma Lawyers Now Driving
Billion Dollar Settlements

Would $1,000-an-hour lawyers for big pharmaceutical companies continue to litigate if they were paid only if they won?  That's a question pharmacy company executives might want to start asking in the wake of the fifth straight loss in an Average Wholesale Price case at the state level.  Here's how the cases line up by state, company, and
jury verdict, with the last number a "national number" when the state verdict is weighted by population:

4Alabama - AstraZeneca - $215 million - $14.06 billion
4Alabama - GlaxoSmithKline - $81 million - $5.29 billion
4Alabama - Novartis  -- $33 million - $2.15 billion
4Missouri - Schering-Plough - $107 million -  $5.55 billion
4Wisconsin - Pfizer - $153 million  - $8.7 billion

The Wisconsin verdict is the latest blow to the pharmaceutical industry, but it will not be the last as Sandoz is about to go to trial in Alabama and dozens of other companies are lined up behind that. | Feb. 24, 2009


DoJ Joins FCA Suit Against
Scios and Johnson & Johnson

The U.S. Justice Department has joined two whistleblower lawsuits alleging that Jo
hnson & Johnson and Scios engaged in off-label marketing of the cardiac drug Natrecor.  >>
To read more
| Feb. 24, 2009


IRS Whistleblower Case
Settled for $780 Million
UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, will pay $780 million to settle charges it helped thousands of wealthy Americans evade taxes. UBS settled after Heinrich Kieber, a former employee of a Liechtenstein bank, brought documents to the IRS detailing massive tax cheating by U.S. citizens. >> To read more | Feb. 24, 2009


Katrina Case Reinstated
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a New Orleans whistleblower lawsuit against insurers that allegedly overbilled the National Flood Insurance Program after Hurricane Katrina.  The lawsuit, by Branch Consultants, was dismissed in October of 2007 on the grounds that its core allegations were already covered by a rival whistleblower suit in Mississippi.  >> To read more | Feb. 24, 2009


Glaxo's $400 Million Reserve

GlaxoSmithKline has reserved $400 million to settle off-label and kick back charges related to "several products” sold from 1997 to 2004, including the antidepressant Wellbutrin
. Glaxo said the reserve “reflects the current status of the [DoJ] investigation." >> To read more | Feb. 10, 2009


Lilly Pays Record $1.4 Billion
for Zyprexa Fraud
In the largest single settlement with a False Claims Act component, Eli Lilly has
agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle charges it defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by off-label marketing of  Zyprexa.  The drug was promoted to nursing homes to
treat dementia, which it does not do.  Of the $1.4 billion settlement, $800 million was paid under the FCA, and $615 million was a criminal penalty (a $515 million fine and asset forfeiture of $100 million). | Jan. 10, 2009
>> Press Release
| Information | Guilty Plea Agreement | Government's Memorandum For Entry Of Plea and Sentencing


Updated Advising the Qui Tam Whistleblower
The second edition of the bestselling Advising the Qui Tam Whistleblower by Robin Page West is now available from the American Bar Association, with a portion of the proceeds to come back to TAF.  This publication provides complete and concise information to assist an attorney in evaluating a client's potential claim, and to determine whether pursuit of a qui tam action is warranted. The handy guide provides an overview of the statute, highlights common and controversial topics, and contains updated statistics as well as a discussion of the recent Supreme Court Allison Engine case, as well as updated case law on the defenses of:

  • Government knowledge/lack of intent

  • Constitutionality

  • Lack of Rule 9(b) specificity

  • Lack of presentment

  • Public disclosure/not original source

  • Limitations

  • Lack of falsity

  • Materiality

  • Counterclaims

  • Improper relator: pro se, government employee or deceased

  • Relator-released claims

Advising the Qui Tam Whistleblower: From Identifying a Case to Filing Under the False Claims Act, also present information on:

  • Submitting false cost and pricing data

  • Providing an inferior product

  • Falsely certified medical procedures

  • Tax law

  • Parasitic suits

Use this volume as a starting point for further thinking. Nine companion forms are included.  >> To order
 


FY 2009 FCA Statistics
The U.S. Department of Justice reports they secured $1.34 billion in settlements and judgments in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008, but the actual number is actually much higher than that.  Why the lower number?  Simple:  for statistical purposes, the DoJ does not count the money won in settlements that is subsequently handed over to the states, nor does it count criminal penalties.  These can quickly add up.  For example, in the DoJ's recent release, they count the Merck FCA recovery at $361.5 million even though the
DoJ's own press release says the total was $650 million. In the Cephalon case, DoJ reports a $375 million recovery even though the DoJ's own press release says the total was $425 million In the Staten Island University Hospital case, DoJ reports $74 million while the press reports the full figure of over $88 million which includes the recovery to the state. The DoJ's most recent press release list the CVS False Claims Act case as a $21 million recovery, even though their earlier press release put the figure at $37 million. So how much money did the False Claims Act actually return last year according to our records?  A little over $2 billion. | Nov. 12, 2008


Vytorin in 35-state
Off-Label Investigation
DoJ and 35 state Attorney Generals offices are
investigating whether Merck and Schering-Plough improperly promoted the cholesterol drug Vytorin.  Merck says it has received five “civil investigative demands” from a multistate group so far.
  >> To read more | Nov. 12, 2008



 


Ranbaxy Under Investigation
Ranbaxy, one of the largest drug companies in the world, is under investigation for making weak or adulterated HIV drugs given to thousands of AIDS patients in Africa and billed to the U.S. Government under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program (PEPFAR).  Ranbaxy is also being investigated for lying about its Zocor formulation sold in the U.S. >> To read more |July 16, 2008


Join Taxpayers Against Fraud
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund is a 400-member strong organization of False Claims Act plaintiffs lawyers.  If you are a qui tam lawyer, and are not a member of TAF, you are missing out on the latest legal opinions, settlements, and practitioner strategies.  >> Join today
 


Faulty Flares Ignite Lawsuit
The Dept. of Justice has joined a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that ATK Thiokol Inc. made defective battlefield flares that can ignite if dropped from a height of as low as 3 feet. The defective flares cost from $700 to $1,000 each, and the U.S. Army and Air Force paid ATK more than $100 million for the product. >> To read more | June 26, 2007


Drug Companies May Have To Return
More of America's Stolen Billions
The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a False Claims Act case filed by Ven-a-Care of the Florida Keys against Roxane Laboratories Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals for Medicaid and Medicare drug pricing violations.  This federal action comes more than a year after Roxane and Boehringer paid $10 million to settle a Texas False Claims Act case alleging similar misconduct involving misrepresentations about the "Average Wholesale Price" of prescription drugs sold to Medicaid.  In announcing their intervention in the case, the U.S. Department of Justice noted that "The United States alleges that Medicare and Medicaid have reimbursed Roxane's customers in excess of $500 million for the drugs which are the subject of the complaint."
     The Roxane Labs case joins a similar case
against Abbott Laboratories by Ven-a-Care that the U.S. Department of Justice joined in May of 2006, and another against Dey Pharmaceuticals that the DoJ joined in September of 2006.
     Complaints a
gainst more than 40 additional companies engaged in Average Wholesale Price violations have been filed in Federal and State courts.  Along with Abbott, Roxane, Dey and Boehringer Ingelheim, defendants in intervened cases include (but are not limited to):  Amgen, Armour Pharmaceutical; Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Baxter Healthcare, Bedford Laboratories; Ben Venue Laboratories, Braun of America, C.H. Boehringer Sohn, Centocorps Inc., Forest Pharmaceuticals, Grundstucksverwaltung GMBH & Co., EMD, Geneva Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Glaxo Wellcome, Burroughs Wellcome, Hoechst Marion Roussell, Hoffman-LaRoche, Hospira Inc., Immunex, Ivax Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, Johnson & Johnson, Lipha, McGaw, Merck, Mylan Laboratories, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Ortho Biotech Products, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Pharma Investment, PurePac Pharmaceutical, Roche Laboratories, Roxane Laboratories, Sandoz, Sicor, Gensia Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough Corp., SmithKline Beecham Corp., GlaxoSmithKline, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Warrick Pharmaceuticals, Z.L.B. Behring.
    While "the rock" of the U.S. Department of Justice squeezes pharmaceutical companies from one side, a potential "hard spot" can be found in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Patti Saris who
ruled in November that "Average Wholesale Price" means exactly what the dictionary says it does, and is not a "term of art" that the drug companies can unilaterally define.  Judge Saris' November ruling suggests that the pharmaceutical industry may face real difficulties in her courtroom. 
     Back in November, we predicted that more Average Wholesale Price cases would come to resolution in 2007, in part to avoid the high cost of courtroom failure (mandatory triple damages, plus mandatory statutory fines and exclusion).  In late December, Bristol-Myers Squibb was the first company to
work out a settlement of both its AWP cases and an off-label marketing case
for a combined total of $499 million.  More cases are sure to follow.  Stay tuned.

 


Fighting Healthcare Fraud:

Whistleblower Statute Returns
$15 for Every $1 Invested

A TAF report by economist Jack Meyer, concludes that every dollar invested by the U.S. Government in investigation and prosecution of federal health care fraud returns $15 back to the American people -- a phenomenal rate of direct return that does not factor in the benefits of fraud deterrence.  >> To read more | August 2, 2006


One Click Statistics Sheet
A simple one-click presentation (6 PDF pages) of official Department of Justice False Claims Act Statistics for FY 1987-2008 can be found >>
here (note that this table does not include recoveries to the states in Medicaid cases, nor does it include criminal fines collected as an outgrowth of FCA cases).


Pharma
Lies for Pharma Profits
How lucrative are the lies told by prescription drug manufacturers?  Very!  The table below, assembled from the recent State of Florida's False Claims Act complaint against Mylan, Teva, and Watson pharmaceuticals, shows how drug companies capture market share at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.  >> To learn more about "marketing the spread" frauds.

 

Drug and Company

Reported Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC)

Florida Medicaid cost based on WAC

Actual  pharmacy cost of buying drugs

Difference in $

Spread as percent of actual

Rantidine, 150mg tablet (Mylan)

$14.00

$14.98

$2.88

$12.10

420%

Clonazepam, .5mg tablet per 100 (Teva)

$9.31

$9.96

$4.49

$5.47

122%

Carisoprodol,350mg tablet (Watson)

$363.40

$388.84

$113.10

$275.74

244%



 

 


 

 

 

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