‘Qui Tam Whistleblower’ Category

Florida-based law firm Holland & Knight will pay $25 million to settle a three-year lawsuit accusing the firm of failing to spot evidence that its client Arthur Nadel was engaged in a Ponzi scheme, according to Reuters. But first the settlement must be approved by the federal district court presiding over the case. Mr. Nadel, a hedge-fund manager, engaged in a Ponzi scheme that cost...

After pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud and tax evasion, Chad Shedron, owner of Family PharmaCare Inc., has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for defrauding the Indiana Medicaid program of $3,521,961.22. In addition, Mr. Shedron is required to repay the $3,521,961.22 that he fraudulently claimed from the Indiana Medicaid program plus an additional $527,670.99 in back taxes for tax years...

Jawad Ahmad has pleaded guilty in federal court to managing a psychotherapy fraud scheme that defrauded the Medicare program of $13.8 million. After he is sentenced in November, Mr. Ahmad could serve as much as 10 years in prison and could have to pay a $250,000 fine.

After Mr. Ahmad’s...

Self-proclaimed “visionary tax attorney” Scott A. Waage of California has been permanently barred, along with his law firm, from preparing federal tax returns or providing tax advice. Mr. Waage did not admit the allegations against him, but he did agree to the injunction. According to the Justice Department, Mr. Waage’s tax fraud schemes cost the Treasury more than $10.7...

September 14, 2012 — Back in 2010, Dallas dentist Richard Malouf, founder of All Smiles Dental Center, was making so much money outfitting low-income children with Medicaid-sponsored cosmetic braces and stainless steel crowns that the clinic caught the interest of the Chicago private equity firm, Valor Equity. Today, the venture capitalists own the majority interest of All Smiles and the...

September 12, 2012 — The Small Smiles chain of dental clinics, owned by Church Street Health Management, closed earlier this year when the chain filed for bankruptcy amid accusations of dental Medicaid fraud. Now one Small Smiles dental clinic located in Syracuse, NY, has been reopened under new management. Local dentist Michael Wilson, DDS, the owner of Wilson Dental, will operate the...

Many cases of health care fraud are brought to light by employees or even patients who are pressured to participate in the scheme themselves. The federal False Claims Act encourages people to come forward by allowing whistleblowers to share in the government’s recovery under the qui tam provisions of the act. These brave individuals play a crucial role in saving taxpayers money and...

The United States Department of Justice has announced the filing of charges against two owners of Spectrum Care P.A., a Houston mental health care company, for their alleged role in a $97 million scam against Medicare. In addition, other employees of the health care provider have also been charged with various counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and make...

Because of a very high rate of suspicious Medicare billing practices among Texas home healthcare providers, some have advocated freezing the enrollment of new home healthcare providers until the questionable practices are brought under control. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Texas alone accounted for almost 40 percent of the nation’s suspicious billings. Among the...