News

Richard David Miranda, a former Arizona State Representative, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for defrauding the charity for which he served as executive director. Mr. Miranda fraudulently acquired over $140,000 from Centro Adelante Campesino Inc. and then failed to report the money on his federal income tax return.

Mr. Miranda previously served in the Arizona House...

February 13, 2012 — Avon Products faces allegations that its executives, particularly those in China, may have violated anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The investigation into possible wrongdoing was prompted by the uncovering of a 2005 internal report, although the probe extends to conduct that occurred after 2005 as well, such as providing dinners and...

GE Healthcare Inc. has paid a hefty $30 million, plus interest, to settle a federal False Claims Act suit alleging that Amersham Health Inc., acquired by GE Healthcare in 2004, caused Medicare to pay inflated prices for Myoview, which is used in cardiac imaging procedures.

Myoview is a radiopharmaceutical powder, which is distributed to health care providers in multi-dose vials. Nuclear...

A number of False Claims Act cases have been filed in federal court against for-profit hospice care companies that many say are cheating Medicare out of millions of dollars annually. End-of-life hospice care is a charitable enterprise no longer, it seems. The nation now has 1,800 for-profit hospice companies, with $14 billion in revenues and a pool of Medicare-covered patients that doubled to...

The United States has sued BestCare Laboratories Inc. and its founder Karim A. Maghareh, for violations of the federal False Claims Act. The government alleges that the defendants knowingly filed false claims with Medicare for mileage-based travel allowance fees for lab technicians.

Maghareh founded BestCare, a clinical laboratory in Houston, in 2002. According to the government, ...

The United States has received $2.5 million in settlement from the Aerospace Corporation, which the government alleged had billed the Air Force over a seven year period for the services “performed” by an employee who hardly ever showed up for work and was unqualified to do the job. Aerospace paid the settlement to end an investigation that uncovered alleged violations of the federal False...

DALLAS – Qui Tam whistleblower attorney, Dan Hargrove, will be the guest speaker at the upcoming Dallas/Fort Worth National Employment Association’s (DFW-NELA) luncheon on February 8, 2012. The luncheon will be held from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at Grimaldi’s – West Village  in Dallas. Dan will be discussing the current status of whistleblower law as well as the protections provided to...

Phillipsburg, NJ-based hospital system Warren Hospital has agreed to settle False Claims Act allegations against it by paying $7.5 million to the U.S. government. Warren Hospital was charged with committing fraud against the federal Medicare program from January 1998 until August 2003 by intentionally increasing patient charges so that the hospital could claim supplemental reimbursement...

Attorney General Eric Holder has announced the formation of the new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group which will operate as part of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Recognizing that enormous failures in the residential mortgage-backed securities market were a significant force in the collapse of housing markets across the nation, it was determined that a new...

Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the 1986 amendments to the False Claims Act. While it may seem strange to celebrate amendments to an Act that dates back to the Civil War, these amendments were instrumental in giving the False Claims Act the power it has today to combat fraud and demand accountability of those who try to take advantage of the U.S. government.

The False Claims...