ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
False Claims Act Cases For Kickbacks and Falsifying Records
Two Large Whistleblower Settlements
Awards in whistleblower cases brought for false claims against the government can be very substantial. Last week, the government announced two settlements in false claim whistleblower cases with rewards for the whistleblowers, discussed below, that show just how substantial those awards can be.[1] The California and San Francisco whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent whistleblowers with similar information of false claims submitted to the government by a variety of healthcare providers including pharmaceutical companies, skilled nursing facilities, medical device manufacturers, labs, clinics, hospitals, and physician groups. If you have credible information for a false claims case or any other whistleblower case in California, call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can help.
The two recent settlements are:
- Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, Inc. agree to pay $25 million to settle a whistleblower suit that alleged defendants paid illegal kickbacks and used unlawful off-label marketing for the drug TriCor. The kickbacks were gifts and speaking engagement stipends offered physicians for prescribing the drug. The off-label marketing involved advertising the drug for use in treating conditions for which the drug was not FDA approved. The whistleblower, a former Abbott sales rep, will receive $6.5 million from the settlement.
- Eye Centers of Florida agreed to pay $525,000 to settle claims it knowingly falsified Medicare patient records in order to submit eligible claims for reimbursement. The suit alleged that defendants altered paperwork to make patient conditions worse than they actually were. The whistleblowers, two former employees, will receive $115,000 from the settlement.
Protect Your Chances For A Reward
These settlements show just how substantial whistleblower awards can be. If you are aware of a false claim against the government, you might miss out on a reward if you merely call a government office to report fraud. Do not make any calls to the government until you have consulted with counsel. To be eligible for a whistleblower reward under the False Claims Act and other whistleblower programs you must report the fraud through appropriate and timely court filings or an application addressed to the appropriate office of the applicable government agency. This is where the California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm can help. Out attorneys know the appropriate procedures for your type of allegation and know how to organize and present your credible, original information and documentation in the most effective way.
Contact Us
In addition to false claims whistleblower cases, our attorneys also handle whistleblower cases before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for offshore tax avoidance schemes, and securities fraud whistleblower cases before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). If you or a loved one has information regarding false claims in San Francisco or elsewhere in California, offshore tax avoidance schemes against the IRS, or securities fraud in violation of SEC and CFTC regulations, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other Evans Law Firm whistleblower and false claims attorneys 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 handle cases involving financial elder abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in either case in any way.
