False Claims Act, qui tam, fraud, whistleblower, relator, settlement, civil fraud, fraud against government

	False Claims Act Update & Alert
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG March 15, 2005
		Sign Up for this FREE Newsletter n TAF Home Page n About TAF-EF n The False Claims Act n Previous Newsletters n Email editor Please take a moment to forward this FREE electronic newsletter to others that might be interested!
			DaVita Faces New Fraud Probe The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri has issued a subpoena to kidney dialysis-care provider DaVita Inc. in an investigation into the company's payments to physicians as well as pharmaceutical services provided to patients. The subpoena was issued in connection with a joint civil and criminal investigation initiated by a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act,, and covers the period from Dec. 1, 1996, to the present. DaVita is already under a fraud investigation from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Most of the renal care industry in the U.S. is now under investigation for fraud. Notes TAF Education Fund President James Moorman, "The renal care industry appears to have broadly embraced fraud as a business plan."
			Wyeth's "Best Price" Heartburn Wyeth pharmaceuticals has been served a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts over its calculations dealing with the Medicaid "best price" for Protonix oral tablets and intravenous products. Protonix is a heartburn medicine, and is among the top 20 drugs sold, with over $2 billion in U.S. sales in 2003.
			Profits from "Charity" Best Price The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether GlaxoSmithKline has been violating Medicaid "best price" rules. Under Medicaid rules, drug companies can sell drugs to charitable entities for a "nominal" price (defined as 10% of the Manufacturers Average Price) without violating the "Medicaid best price" rule, but this exemption only applies to charitable entities such as clinics for the poor. Glaxo says it thinks the exemption applies to any "nominal price" sale, not just sales to charitable organizations. >> To read more
			CMS Weak on Best Price Fraud The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is not doing enough to crack down on "best price" rebate fraud under the Medicaid program. To read "Medicaid Drug Rebate Program: Inadequate Oversight Raises Concerns about Rebates Paid to States," >> click here. Since 1996, over $2.4 billion has been recovered from drug manufacturers engaged in fraud against the U.S. Government and the 50 states notes the latest report from the TAF Education Fund. Over 500 drugs are now under investigation under the False Claims Act.
			Tenet: Lawsuit Rich & Cash Short Peter Urbanowicz, General Counsel for Tenet Healthcare says a retrial on Federal charges of paying kickbacks to doctors in San Diego case "should not limit our ability to resolve other matters" related to other fraud charges levied by the Federal Government. Perhaps, but it's unclear where the cash will come from. Last week Florida's Attorney General filed suit against Tenet under that state's RICO law, alleging that Tenet inflated outlier reimbursements.  The state says more than $1 billion is due back to that state alone. Meanwhile, Tenet posted a $2.02 billion loss for the 4th Quarter of its Fiscal Year.
			Putting the Con in Contractor The Los Angeles Times reports that Iraq War contractor Custer Battles ran into trouble right from the beginning, with almost everyone questioning their work and their billing. Despite it all, the company continued to get contracts until the Air Force knocked the legs out from under the feed trough. Notes Army Col. Richard Ballard, inspector general for the U.S.-led forces that invaded Iraq, "I concluded that they were intentionally attempting to defraud the government." >> To read more
			City Attorney Whistleblowing San Francisco city and county recently collected nearly $5 million in "whistleblower" rewards for ferreting out more than $20 million in fraud against the state of California by Old Republic Title Co. This is the fourth time that San Francisco City Attorneys have filed whistleblower lawsuits under the Federal and California False Claims Acts.
			Arleigh-Burke Case Dismissed A case involving allegations of fraud during the construction of generators used in the Arleigh-Burke Class of destroyers was dismissed in Ohio. The qui tam lawsuit, which was not joined by the Department of Justice, was brought by Roger Sanders and Roger Thacker, two former employees of the assembler of the generator sets, General Tool Company. The relators allege that GM, through its Allison Engine subcontractors and others, failed to hire properly certified welders, failed to inspect thousands of welds, and violated Truth In Negotiation Act requirements. The case was dismissed for failure to present a claim to the government.