False Claims Act Update & Alert |
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Taxpayers
Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG |
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 AIR Force Issues Fraud AlertA Texas lawsuit may have exposed massive fraud by SAIC, the eighth-largest defense contractor in the nation. The company did $6 billion in total revenue last year, 69 percent of it with the U.S. Government. The FCA lawsuit has been joined by the Department of Justice which claims SAIC routinely violated the Truth in Negotiations Act and padded its profits by withholding cost and pricing information. The Air Force has issued a service-wide fraud alert about SAIC's bidding practices. >> To read the Air Force Fraud Alert |
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 Medco May Face
SanctionsIn the large Medco False Claims Act case going on in Pennsylvania, Judge Clarence Newcomer seems to be growing weary of disinformation and foot-dragging from Medco, and is threatening legal sanctions. He writes in a February 2 opinion: "[T]he Court admonishes Medco for its discovery practices, and reminds Medco of its obligation to this Court to contact it when discovery issues arise, not a week after it fails to meet a deadline. . . . Any further violations of this Court's orders may result in sanctions." >> To read Judge Newcomer's motion |
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 TAF
Files Amicus In Atkins CaseTaxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the appellant in United States ex rel. Patrick Bruce Atkins, M.D. v. Charles Mc. McInteer, M.D., et. al. The case is on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit from the U.S. District Court of Alabama, Southern Division and centers on whether the District Court erred in dismissing the Relator’s claim on the grounds that false claims were submitted to a state Medicaid agency (which causes the agency to forward false claims to the Federal Government) rather than directly to the Federal Government. >> To read the TAF brief |
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 Illinois
Ripped-off On 48 DrugsThe Attorney General of Illinois has file suit in Cook County Circuit Court against 48 pharmaceutical companies alleging that for more than a decade the companies ripped off the state by fraudulently publishing inflated prices for prescription drugs forcing government programs and Illinois Medicare consumers to overpay hundreds of millions in drug costs. Among the companies named in the suit: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott Laboratories. >> To read more |
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 Abington Memorial Set
for TrialA Federal False Claims Act case brought by the Department of Justice against Abington Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania is set to go to trial in early March. According to the complaint, Abington Memorial allegedly submitted more than 70,000 false claims to Medicare for outpatient laboratory testing between 1991 and 1999. When the fraud was flagged by state auditors, Abington not only failed to repay its Medicare and FEHBP overcharges, it continued to submit new overcharges. >> To read more |
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