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False Claims Act Update & Alert |
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Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG January 30, 2008 |
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False Claims Act Update & Alert
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG January 30, 2008
n TAF Home Page
n Previous Newsletters
n Email editor
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"Big Dig" FCA Case Settles
A second "Big Dig" False Claims Act case has settled, this time with Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the consortium that oversaw design and construction of one of the nation's costliest public-works projects. Several smaller companies were also rolled into the settlement. Of the $458 million paid, $23 million will be paid to the Federal Government under the federal False Claims Act, and $40 million will go to the state of Massachusetts under their state False Claims Act. Of the total amount, $407 million will be paid by Bechtel/Parsons. >> To read more
Rhode Island False Claims
Act Is Signed Into Law
Rhode Island has become the 21st State (not including the District of Columbia) to pass a state False Claims Act. The effective date for the new law is February 15, 2008 >> For a listing of state FCA's.
Feds Join NJ Outlier Cases
The U.S. Department of Justice has joined two False Claims Act cases filed against three New Jersey hospitals: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, Barnert Hospital in Paterson, and Bayonne Hospital in Bayonne. The whistleblower cases charge the hospitals with stealing millions of dollars by fraudulently claiming higher reimbursement rates or "outlier payments." >> To read more
Passion for Payola is Called . . .
Dr. H. James Brownlee Jr. is unapologetic about subsidizing his $170,000 a year salary as a faculty member at the University of South Florida's College of Medicine by shilling for pharma companies. He says he's "just passionate about being more proactive in treating diseases" -- provided, of course, he is being paid for the passion. David Rothman, a professor at Columbia University, has a different way of describing pharma passion for payola: he compares doctors who take the money to commercial sex workers. >> To read more
Success in Washington . . .
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a new report which finds Uncle Sam spent about $55 billion in overpayments in FY 2007 -- up $14 billion from FY 2006. The good news, says the GAO, is that federal agencies are "making strides" in reporting the scope of their waste and fraud problems. >> To read more