False Claims Act Update & Alert
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG July 31, 2007
		Sign Up for this FREE Newsletter n TAF Home Page n Previous Newsletters n Email editor n To unsubscribe send email with "unsubscribe" in subject line.   Please take a moment to forward this FREE electronic newsletter to others that might be interested!
			$50 Million Big Dig Concrete Settlement Aggregate Industries NE Region, Inc. will plead guilty to criminal charges and pay $50 million to settle a case in which the company supplied weakened concrete for Boston's Big Dig tunnel project.  The settlement includes $15.5 million to be paid under the False Claims Act.  The Boston Globe reports that state and federal authorities are demanding that the Bechtel-Parsons-Brinckerhoff consortium pay as much as $1 billion to settle other claims and avoid criminal charges.  >> To read more
			University Pays $5.3 million Oakland City University has agreed to pay $5.3 million to settle a False Claims Act case in which the university is accused of paying cash incentives to recruiters in violation of Higher Education Act rules which prohibit such payments.  The case is similar to a larger case against the University of Phoenix, that is scheduled to go to trial in the Fall.  >> To read more
			The (Ortho)fix Is In So many orthotics companies are under investigation for kickbacks, it is perhaps not too surprising that Orthofix International has announced that its Blackstone Medical Inc. unit has received a subpoena from the Department of Health and Human Services "regarding compensation of physician consultants and related matters."  >> To read more
			Personal Responsibility The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled Dr. Scott Augustine is personally liable for a $2 million fine and his attorneys' fees because he violated Minnesota law through fraud, thus nullifying his company's corporate indemnification policy. >> To read more
			Keeping an Eye on PSC's A recent report from the Office of the Inspector General of HHS makes it clear that they are keeping their eye on Program Safeguard Contractors, some of whom seem to be getting "minimal results from proactive data analysis."  The PSC program cost over $102 million in FY 2005.  >> To read the report