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A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against FORBA Holdings LLC who is accused of causing bills to be submitted to state Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary dental services performed on children insured by Medicaid.

FORBA will pay $24 million, plus interest. The federal share of the civil settlement is $14,285,645, and the states’ Medicaid share is $9,714,355.25. Three whistleblowers will receive payments totaling more than $2.4 million from the federal share of the settlement.

The case stems from three lawsuits that were filed by individual whistleblowers. The United States alleged that FORBA was liable for causing the submission of claims for reimbursement for a wide range of dental services provided to low-income children that were either medically unnecessary or performed in a manner that failed to meet professionally-recognized standards of care. These services included performing pulpotomies (baby root canals), placing crowns, administering anesthesia (including nitrous oxide), performing extractions, and providing fillings and/or sealants.

A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against University of Phoenix who is accused of student recruitment policies that violated the False Claims Act.

The two whistleblowers will receive $19 million from the settlement.

This case began as a whistleblower action against another company. Though the United States did not intervene in this action, the Government provided support and assistance to the whistleblowers at many stages of the case.

A settlement has been to resolve False Claims Act allegations against St. John Health System who is accused of paying physicians or physician groups to induce referrals for medical services.

In April 2008, St. John submitted a self-disclosure report to the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General that acknowledged that the physician agreements may have run afoul of federal law. The settlement resulted from the company’s disclosure.

The United States determined that St. John made payments to 23 individual physicians or physician groups to induce referrals for medical services.

A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against Spectranetics Corporation who is accused of causing false claims to be submitted to the Medicare Program.

The United States allegations were that the company illegally imported unapproved medical devices and provided them to physicians for use in patients, conducted a clinical study in a manner that failed to comply with federal regulations and promoted certain products for procedures for which the company had not received Food and Drug Administration approval or clearance.

A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Harborside Healthcare and HHC Nutrition Services.  They are accused of receiving kickbacks and assistance under the guise of a sham durable medical equipment (DME) provider.

The whistleblower will receive a $275,000 share of the government's recovery.

Originally filed in October 2008 against McKesson and MediNet, the United States alleged that Harborside Healthcare and HHC Nutrition Services received kickbacks and assistance and, in return, Harborside purchased its DME, such as non-enteral supplies, from McKesson.

A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against AT&T Missouri (formerly known as Southwestern Bell Telephone L.P.), who is accused of engaging in non-competitive bidding practices for Federal Communications Commission contracts.

The whistleblower will receive a $195,000 share of the government's settlement.

Originally filed in 2006, the United States alleged that the Company violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program. 

The E-Rate program, which Congress created in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, provides funding for needy schools and libraries to connect to and utilize the Internet. Under the program, which is supported by fees collected from telephone users, schools apply for funds to pay for hardware and monthly connectivity service fees.

The government's complaint asserted AT&T Missouri provided false information to the E-Rate program and otherwise violated the program’s requirements by engaging in non-competitive bidding practices for E-Rate contracts. The United States further alleged that AT&T Missouri employees colluded with officials in the Kansas City, Mo., School District to award contracts to the company, extended contracts in violation of E-Rate rules and provided meals and other inducements to school district employees.

A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations brought against Omni Home Care, and its parent corporation, Omni Home Health.  They are accused of failing to obtain certain required physician approvals before submitting bills for home health services to Medicare.

In August 2008, Omni submitted a disclosure to the Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, in which Omni stated that the required physician signatures were not timely obtained for certain services provided at its Evansville, Ind., facility. 

The settlement reached resolves the violations mentioned in the Company's disclosure.

A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against McAllen Hospitals LP, d/b/a/ South Texas Health System, who is accused of paying illegal compensation to doctors in order to induce them to refer patients to hospitals within the group.

According to settlement details, the federal government will receive $25,208,333 and the state of Texas will receive $2,291,667 for claims submitted to the state Medicaid program. The whistleblower will receive $5.5 million from the proceeds of the settlement.

Originally filed in 2005, the federal government alleged that the defendants had entered into financial relationships with several doctors in McAllen in order to induce them to refer patients to the defendants’ hospitals. The government alleged that these payments were disguised through a series of sham contracts, including medical directorships and lease agreements. Under the Stark Statute, Medicare providers are prohibited from billing Medicare for referrals from doctors with whom the providers have a financial relationship, unless that relationship falls within certain exceptions.

A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC) who is accused of engaging in a fraudulent kickback scheme involving two technical services contracts with the Air Force.

The contracts, first awarded in 1996, sought DRC’s expertise in procuring computer equipment and services for the Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) program at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. The TBMCS program provides the military with an integrated system to plan and execute air battle plans for operations and intelligence personnel at the force and unit levels. The contracts required DRC’s employees to certify that neither they nor their spouses had financial interests that would interfere with their ability to deliver unbiased advice while performing the contracts. DRC failed to obtain the certificates from former vice presidents Paul Arguin and Victor Garber, who headed the project.

The United States alleged that from 1997 to 2000, DRC, through Mr. Arguin and Mr. Garber, steered Air Force contracts for computer equipment and services to companies owned by themselves, Mr. Arguin’s wife, and others, in exchange for kickbacks and inflated contract prices that produced windfall profits for the two DRC executives. In one of the schemes, Arguin and Garber allegedly substituted inexpensive memory modules for those required by the contract, causing the Air Force to overpay for the nonconforming modules.

A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Dr. Gabriel DeCandido who is accused of defrauding the Medicare program.

According to the settlement, the court permitted the government to seize five of his vehicles and garnish $976,000 that Dr. DeCandido transferred to his wife.The whistleblower's share of the recovery is $306,000.

This case was originally filed by a whistleblower in January 2005.  The United States alleged Dr. DeCandido violated the False Claims Act by billing the Medicare program for higher levels of service than he actually rendered to patients and by billing for services not provided. The government presented sufficient evidence showing that Dr. DeCandido attempted to hide and transfer his assets to avoid having to pay a judgment to the United States.