ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Settlement Of Large Whistleblower Healthcare Fraud Suit
Kickbacks For Medical Services Referrals
Former Employee Brings Fraud To Light
Healthcare fraud against government programs costs billions and individual citizens help the government recoup large amounts lost to this fraud. Under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq., the government rewards whistleblowers who present credible information of false claims under Medicare and Medicaid. The California and Marin County whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent whistleblowers in FCA cases against nursing homes, hospitals, clinics, labs, pharmaceutical companies, government contractors, and others who overbill the government or make illegal referrals or kickbacks, sell unapproved medications, or commit other fraudulent acts. If you have credible information of false claims against the government, call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can help.
In one recent settlement,* the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) resolved a whistleblower FCA lawsuit alleging that a testing laboratory paid kickbacks (prohibited by the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b) to induce physicians to refer medical tests to the laboratory. An employee of the lab who received monthly expenses reports, which allegedly included a line item titled “Administrate Service Fees.” When he inquired with another employee about this line item, the whistleblower learned that this was a “kickback” paid to a client which referred numerous patients to the lab for testing services. The employee initiated an FCA whistleblower suit based on this information. Defendant settled the case for roughly $12 million without any determination of liability. The whistleblower will receive a reward for initiating the suit.
Protection for Whistleblowers
Employees, bookkeepers, and other insiders may have credible information of these types of false claims against the government. Federal law protects insiders/employees against retaliation from employers for blowing the whistle on fraud. If you are fired because you brought any fraud to light, you can fight back. You may be entitled to sue your employer in federal court and seek double back pay (with interest), reinstatement, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and reimbursement for certain costs in connection with the litigation. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h). Our California whistleblower attorneys can represent you in any action for retaliation as well as represent you in your underlying whistleblower application.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans and our other California and Marin County whistleblower attorneys handle all types of whistleblower cases in addition to false claims cases, including cases for bank fraud under FIRREA/FIAFEA, commodity trading and securities fraud under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program and the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, and tax fraud under the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program. If you have information regarding false claims, offshore tax avoidance schemes against the IRS, or securities and commodity trading fraud in violation of SEC and CFTC regulations, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower and false claims attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through 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.
*Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
