‘Qui Tam Whistleblower’ Category

The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law) will be required to pay a fine of $250,000 to the American Bar Association (ABA) because the law school intentionally inflated the test scores of its incoming students. The funds will be used to support monitoring and compliance efforts related to data reporting and publication requirements.

The ABA’s censure criticized...

Denver residents Leonid Stolyar and Yelena Stolyar weren’t able to save their marriage, but they did keep their Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme going despite their divorce and Ms. Stolyar’s lifetime ban against billing Medicare or Medicaid for healthcare services. According to their plea agreement, the Stolyars will spend approximately three years each in federal...

Another Miami home healthcare agency owner has pleaded guilty for participating in a Medicare fraud scheme. This scheme resulted in $42 million in false billing against Medicare. Florida has been a hothouse for Medicare and Medicaid fraud, with high dollar schemes thriving in Miami.

Eulises Escalona has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Under his plea...

Checarol Robinson, the owner of P&C Adult Day Center, has pleaded guilty to participating in a $10 million psychotherapy fraud. At sentencing this December, Ms. Robinson could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison as well as a fine of $250,000 for each count.

Ms. Robinson allegedly provided personal information about the Medicare beneficiaries in her care to a fraudulent...

The Department of Justice’s new Whistleblower Ombudsperson position underscores the federal government’s reliance on whistleblowers who provide critical information and assistance to regulators in fighting fraud. Veteran federal prosecutor Robert Storch will serve as the first Whistleblower Ombudsperson in the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

The...

Florida has remained a hub for Medicaid fraud, especially fraud in home healthcare services. An anti-fraud program launched in Miami-Dade to crack down on the problem of Medicaid fraud will now expand to Lee County and 33 other Florida counties.

Florida Program will Monitor for Medicaid Fraud.

The program requires nurses and home healthcare aides to call a...

The recent Libor price-rigging scandal may cost the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) its oversight of the interest rate that provides the reference for over $500 trillion in securities, according to Bloomberg News. The BBA has been assigned fault in the Libor debacle by both the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the Bank of England because the BBA failed to respond adequately when...

Miami residents Sharon Angulo and Claudia Zuloaga have been barred by a Florida federal court from preparing federal income tax returns for others, according to the Department of Justice. The government has alleged that the defendants helped their customers prepare Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 1099-OID in order to report phony income tax withholding.

The defendants’...

You may remember stories of the Department of Defense paying $100 or more for a simple hammer or a bolt. Whether or not those stories are fair, defense contract fraud remains a real concern. That concern was realized recently when the former co-owner of a company contracted to do work in Iraq pleaded guilty to filing false claims with the federal government.

Jill Ann Charpia, former...

Certain Tennessee residents and home healthcare providers have agreed to a $9.375 million settlement with the federal government to resolve a 2009 False Claims Act lawsuit. The Justice Department alleged that the defendants violated the False Claims Act by causing Medicare to pay too much based on a mistake in fact.

Alleged Medicare Fraud Prompted False Claims Act...