False Claims Act Update & Alert
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG
March 24, 2011. . 
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Case Against BP Oil Platform Goes Forward
A federal judge has declined to dismiss a whistleblower False Claims Act case against BP which alleges the company knowingly submitted false compliance certifications for its Atlantis oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. BP's defense may be problematic: their own analysis, done by an independent firm, found that BP violated its own policies by not having completed engineering documents on board the drilling rig when it began operation in 2007. While the government has intervened in the lawsuit, the Bureau for Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has nonetheless issued a report saying that the Atlantis rig is "safe" to operate. Safety and documentation allegations in this case predate the April 20, 2010 explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig.
NYC Ripped Off Medicaid for Millions?
The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a whistleblower lawsuit accusing New York City of overbilling Medicaid by tens of millions of dollars by improperly approving 24-hour home care for thousands of patients. In some cases, the City enrolled patients who did not need such intensive services, while in other cases the city approved in-home care for people who needed more intensive services which would have required the city to contribute to the cost.
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Medline to Pay $85 Million
Medline Industries Inc., an Illinois medical products company, will pay $85 million to settle a False Claims Act case accusing the company of paying fraudulent kickbacks to hospitals that buy supplies paid for by Medicare and Medicaid. For his help in bringing the case, whistleblower Sean Mason, and his legal team, will be awarded $23.4 million. >> To read more
KV Pharma CEO Gets Jail, Exclusion, Fine
Marc Hermelin, the bearded CEO of KV Pharmaceuticals, has been excluded from Medicare and Medicaid, been sentenced to a month in jail, and been fined nearly $1 million for misbranding drugs. KV's wholly-owned subsidiary, the ironically-named Ethex Corp., pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges of making and distributing medicines of the wrong size that endangered public safety.
Pfizer Protonix Settlement in the Works?
A joint motion filed by Pfizer and the U.S. Department of Justice has asked for a discovery deadline extension to "permit the parties to continue to engage in settlement discussions.” In a separate filing last month, Pfizer cited earlier estimates from the government that its liability could exceed more than $2 billion.
California Insurance Commission Joins Case Against Bristol Myers-Squibb
The California Department of Insurance has joined a qui tam lawsuit against Bristol Myers-Squibb, alleging the company provided illegal kickbacks to doctors in order to increase sales in California of such drugs as Plavix, Abilify and Avapro. The lawsuit is the largest health insurance fraud case ever pursued by a California state agency. >> To read more
Occidental Oil to Pay $2 Million
Occidental Petroleum has agreed to pay over $2 million to resolve claims the company violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties on natural gas produced from public lands. This is one in a series of cases filed by whistleblower Harold Wright, now deceased. Wright's cases have returned over $200 million to the Federal Government.
>> To read more.