ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Billing for Unnecessary Procedures
Former Employees Blow Whistle on Nursing Home Chain
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that a large nursing home chain will pay $15.5 million to settle allegations brought against it by a group of whistleblowers under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq. (FCA).[1] In the reported case, whistleblowers and the DOJ alleged that the company pressured therapists to perform unnecessary services in order to maximize reimbursements and encouraged clinicians to treat dementia and hospice patients who did not need or want rehabilitation services.
As is common in FCA cases, the $15.5 million settlement resolves the allegations without the nursing home chain admitting fault or the DOJ reaching a formal determination of civil liability. The two former employees who brought the whistleblower action will split $2.8 million of the settlement money as their reward. Whistleblower rewards range from 15-25 percent of the amount recovered and up to 30% if the government choosing not to intervene in the case and the whistleblowers continue the qui tam case on their own. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(1) and (2) (“Award to Qui Tam Plaintiff”).
Insiders like these two former employees, or current employees or board members may witness fraudulent billing, charging for unnecessary services, or kickback schemes in operation. If you have original information of this kind of fraud or any other fraud being perpetrated against the government here in Alameda County or elsewhere in California, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415)441-8669. If your employer retaliates against you for blowing the whistle on fraud, our litigators can also represent you in any action for wrongful termination. Remedies include reinstatement, double back pay plus interest, special damages, and attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in bringing your case. 31 U.S. § 3730(h)(2).
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has information regarding a whistleblower or qui tam case of false claims for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, or bank fraud under The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA/FIAFEA), securities fraud under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program and the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, other False Claims Act cases, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office, the FINRA Whistleblower Office or the California False Claims Act, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with large whistleblower cases, complex financial contract litigation, and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through whistleblower false claims applications, discovery and investigation, a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
