False Claims Act Update & Alert
	Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG           May 13, 2011
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		Subscribe to this FREE Newsletter Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz 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!	Quest to Pay $241 Million Quest Diagnostics says it has agreed to pay $241 million to resolve a California False Claims Act case alleging the company overbilled the state Medicaid program for diagnostic-testing. The Quest case is one of seven private medical lab cases brought by Chris Riedel, CEO of Hunter Laboratories, whose company refused to price-gouge. The other six defendant companies are: Health Line Clinical Labs; Westcliff Medical Labs; Physicians Immunodiagnostic Laboratory; Whitefield Medical Laboratory; Seacliff Diagnostics Medical Group, and; Laboratory Corporation of America.  >> To read more
			Why Is No One in Jail? Hundreds of thousands of nursing home residents were illegally drugged says a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services. Notes HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson: "Despite the fact that it is potentially lethal to prescribe antipsychotics to patients with dementia, there's ample evidence some drug companies aggressively marketed their products towards such populations, putting profits before safety..." >> To read more
			Grassley Sends SEC a Strong Message Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has sent a strong letter to SEC chairwoman Mary Schapiro asking her agency to derail any proposed rule that would require whistleblowers to internally report to compliance officers before filing with the SEC. "The SEC's primary purpose is to protect investors – not internal compliance programs – from potential harm caused by fraud and misconduct," said Grassley. >> To read more
			Big Oil Shells Out Again The Shell Oil Company has agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a False Claim Act case charging the company with knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from Federal lands. This case is one of a small train of successful cases filed and won by the Harrold Wright. >> To read more
			Forest Labs Gets Another Subpoena HHS OIG is moving to exclude Forest Labs CEO Howard Solomon from doing business with the federal government for past fraud, even as it subpoenas the company for more fraud, this time dealing with marketing of its hypertension drugs Benicar, Benicar HCT and Azor. >> To read more
			DoJ Money May Have Strings Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have cosponsored a bill to increase funding for Justice Department anti-fraud activities by $15 million, but a small string is attached: DoJ will have to issue an annual report to Congress on False Claims Act Settlements. Said Sen. Grassley: "Without transparency and accountability the fight to combat fraud often falls short..." >> To read more
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