‘Qui Tam Whistleblower’ Category

Texas AG Joins Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Dallas Dentist and Dental Clinics

DALLAS — July 9, 2012 — Dallas-based law firm Waters & Kraus, LLP announces that Dr. Christine Ellis has sued Dr. Richard Malouf and several All Smiles clinics, alleging violations of the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act.

Dr. Ellis is represented by Waters &...

July 2012 — The U.S. Department of Justice has notified Universal Technical Institute, Inc. in Scottsdale, Arizona that it has become the target of a preliminary investigation involving federal False Claims Act violations, the company has announced in a press release. UTI is one of the nation’s largest providers of automotive technician training.

The investigation comes after a...

June 29, 2012 — It started with a news station investigation into Medicaid dental fraud claims in Texas. WFAA found that Texas spent a lot on Medicaid—more than the rest of the United States combined. The news team found that false claims for dental work against the Texas...

June 11, 2012 — After months of news coverage, state and federal investigations, and Senate hearings on the problem of rampant dental Medicaid fraud, eleven Texas dental practices have been suspended from making dental claims against Medicaid or receiving any state funds based on credible allegations of dental fraud against the Texas Medicaid Orthodontics program.

May 7, 2012 — After television station WFAA revealed its discovery of Medicaid fraud among dental practices in Texas, one of the targeted dental clinic chains, All Smiles Dental Center, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since the story broke, the claim of clinics has been shrinking. A year ago, the chain boasted dozens of dental clinics, but now only a handful remain.

The...

April 16, 2012 — Bradley David Edson, former chief executive officer of NutraCea, has been accused of orchestrating a fraud scheme that was allegedly intended to inflate the company’s stock price and to defraud investors as well as auditors and securities regulators, according to The Arizona Republic. Mr. Edson has been charged with 27 counts of securities fraud and other fraud...

Lockheed Martin Corp., the largest defense contractor in the U.S., settled a False Claims Act case in March 2012 for $15.85 million.

The lawsuit, filed in Dallas federal court, alleged that Lockheed and its subcontractor, Tools & Metals, Inc., engaged in a seven-year pricing fraud by mischarging the federal government for tools used on military aircraft. The subcontractor allegedly...

The Virginia-based defense contractor Calnet has agreed to pay the federal government more than $18 million to settle claims that the company overbilled the government on defense contracts. According to the Washington Post, the settlement addresses alleged overbilling on three contracts for linguist services and translation at Guantanamo Bay and other location.

The overbilling claims...

South Florida has gained the unwelcome reputation of being a hotbed for Medicare fraud. The recent conviction of two doctors, a therapist, and two other individuals from the Miami area for involvement in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme has not helped that reputation. Drs. Alberto Ayala along with Mark Willner and therapist Dr. Vanja Abreu were convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy...