ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Illegal Kickbacks and Payments for Patient Referrals
The Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act Suit
Large Whistleblower Reward
The FBI estimates that fraud under the federal government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs amounts to $75 billion to $250 billion every year. Each year, individual whistleblowers help the government recoup billions under the False Claims Act (FCA). When the government recovers, whistleblowers can receive 15-30% of the recovery as a reward. The California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent individuals with credible information of any type of fraud against the government, including healthcare fraud. If you have credible information for a whistleblower or qui tam case, call the whistleblower/qui tam attorneys at Evans Law Firm Inc. today at (415) 441-8669.
Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced a $26.67 million settlement of a False Claims Act whistleblower/qui tam case[1] against a large medical diagnostic lab for alleged illegal payments and kickbacks to doctors for referrals. According to the Justice Department’s announcement, the lab allegedly disguised the illegal payments as investment returns. The lab allegedly targeted physicians through a hospital’s independent marketing company and made sales pitches offering money for referrals. The laboratory also allegedly conspired with hospitals and other service providers to bill for outpatient services that were never performed. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and no determination of liability was made. The whistleblowers will receive a reward of $4.36 million.
Insiders like employees, former employees, and bookkeepers are individuals who may witness illegal referral and kickback schemes in operation. If you have original information of this kind of fraud or any other fraud being perpetrated against the government, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. Our lawyers know how best to assemble and present your evidence or wrongdoing with a chance at an award. 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, securities violations, or cases under the Internal Revenue Code for prosecution of tax avoidance schemes including offshore schemes, 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.
