On April 13, the U.S. intervened in five lawsuits against Insys Therapeutics Inc., which all accuse the company of violating the False Claims Act in regard to its opioid painkiller, Subsys. The painkiller is a sublingual spray form of fentanyl, an extremely potent and addictive drug. Fentanyl has made the…
Alere, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Alere San Diego agreed to pay the U.S. $33.2 million to resolve allegations that the medical device manufacturer violated the False Claims Act. (Alere was acquired by Abbott, one of the world’s largest healthcare companies, in October 2017.) According to the Department of…
In March, the Department of Justice for the Eastern District of California announced the federal government and California reached a settlement agreement with Kmart. The retailer, based in Illinois with locations throughout California, will pay $525,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act by knowingly submitting…
On March 8, the Riverside County District Attorney announced that four men had been arrested in connection with an $8 million health care fraud scheme. The men were Jeffrey D. Ogletree, of Meridian, Idaho; Brian Andrew La Porte, of Poway, California; Dennis Davin Bonavilla, of Murrierta, California; and Babar Iqbal,…
While qui tam cases brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) are often related to health care, qui tam cases can be in connection to any type of claim made to the federal government for payment. In addition to the health care industry, defense contractors are another area in which…
Scripps Health, a San Diego-based health care system, will pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations. Scripps is accused of seeking reimbursements from federal health care programs for physical therapy services rendered by therapists who lacked billing privileges. If you have any information regarding an…
On November 28, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $1.2 million settlement with Cardiovascular Consultants Heart Center, known as CVC Heart Center, and its shareholder physicians. CVC Health Center is a cardiology clinic with offices in Fresno and Clovis, California. The CVC Heart Center along with Dr. Kevin…
Elaine C. Lat, 47, of Fontana, California, owned and operated the Star Home Health Resources, Inc., a home health agency. As the chief operating officer, Lat implemented an illegal kickback scheme through which she would pay physicians, marketers, and other professionals in cash or checks from Star Home’s accounts for…
Michael Mirando, 40, previously a resident of Aliso Viejo, CA, was found guilty in May of 2017 on 15 counts of health care fraud. It took a federal jury less than half an hour to reach a verdict following the trial. At the end of October, Mirando was sentenced to…
The Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Eastern District of California announced in October that two individuals pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges. These announcements continue to prove that the DOJ is focused on prosecuting all forms of health care fraud throughout the state and federal levels. If you…