False Claims Act Update & Alert
Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG
May 5, 2011. . 
n TAF Home Page
n Previous Newsletters
n Email editor
Please take a moment to forward this FREE electronic newsletter to others that might be interested!
Waste Company to Pay $7.5 Million
Wheelabrator Technologies, which operates three municipal waste incinerators in Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a state False Claims Act case alleging it violated the Hazardous Waste Management Act by improperly treating and disposing ash at its Saugus and North Andover plants. The case was brought under the Massachusetts False Claims Act. >> To read more
Deutsche Bank Faces Billion Dollar Mortgage Fraud False Claims Act Case
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a False Claim Act lawsuit against Deutsche Bank AG and its wholly owned subsidiary, MortgageIT Inc., which was an approved direct endorsement lender which greenlighted over $5 billion of FHA-insured loans without doing due diligence on those loans as promised and certified. So far, the Federal Housing Administration has paid claims on more than 3,100 insured mortgages, totaling $386 million, and more claims are expected. Said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (SD-NY): "As alleged, MortgageIT and Deutsche Bank ignored every type of red flag and breached every duty of due diligence before underwriting thousands of federally insured mortgages. While the homes the defendants issued loans for may have been built on solid ground, the defendants’ lending practices were built on quicksand. Ultimately, prudence was trumped by profit, and good faith took a back seat to good fees. This is exactly the kind of misconduct our Civil Frauds Unit was created to combat.” >> To read more
Serono To Pay $44.3 Million For Rebif
Serono has agreed to pay $44.3 million to resolve a False Claims Act case involving kickbacks paid to increase prescriptions for the recombinant interferon injectable drug Rebif, which is used to treat multiple sclerosis. In 2005, Serono paid over $704 million to settle a FCA case charging it with paying kickbacks and engaging in off-label marketing of Serostim, an anti-AIDS wasting drug. >> To read more
Par Pharmaceuticals to Pay $145 Million
Par Pharmaceutical Companies has said it has reached an agreement in principle to resolve a False Claims Act case filed by Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys on behalf of the United States and 49 states (excluding Illinois) over Medicaid price-gouging. >> To read more
FedEx To Pay $8 Million
FedEx has agreed to pay the federal government $8 million to settle a False Claims Act case charging the company with lying about delivery delays to U.S. government agencies, and blaming them on security measures instigated after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. >> To read more
Ranbaxy's Lipitor Problem
Ranbaxy, India's largest pharmaceutical company, intends to launch a branded generic version of Lipitor in November, but it has a massive problem: its drugs are banned from import to the U.S. due to manufacturing problems related to HIV anti-retroviral drugs sold to USAID for use in Africa. >> To read more
Feds Join Student Recruitment Case
DoJ has joined a False Claims Act case against the Education Management Corp., charging the for-profit company with illegally compensating student recruiters in violation of Title V. Education Management has said it expects “several states” to join the False Claims Act case. The whistleblower complaint names 11 states and the District of Columbia. >> To read more.