Blog | Chilivis Cochran Larkins & Bever

23andMe Settles Data Breach Class Action for $30 Million.

Sep 25, 2024 | Cyber Law

In October 2023, hackers were able to gain access to 23andMe customer accounts through a credential stuffing attack where the username and password used on 23andMe.com were the same as those that were used on other websites that were previously compromised or...

Owner of 2 Detox Clinics Convicted in Illegal Kickback Scheme

Sep 17, 2024 | False Claims Act

The DOJ announced that Casey Mahoney, of Los Angeles, California, has been convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to solicit, receive, pay, or offer illegal remunerations for patient referrals, seven counts of illegal remunerations for patient...

Atlanta City Council Reconsiders Proposed Tiny Home Restrictions Amid Affordable Housing Concerns

Sep 17, 2024 | Housing Development Law

As reported by Atlanta Civic Circle, Atlanta City Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet is revising her proposed legislation that would have required special-use permits for tiny homes under 750 square feet in most residential areas. The initial goal was to protect...

Film Producer and Accountant Indicted in $5 Million Tax Fraud Case

Sep 17, 2024 | Tax Fraud

On September 13, 2024, the Department of Justice announced that Nigel Sinclair, a film producer, and Anthony Stewart, an Australian accountant, were indicted by a federal grand jury. They are accused of engaging in a decades-long conspiracy to hide Sinclair’s income...

OCR Issues Reminder to Protect Physical Security of Electronic Protected Health Information

Sep 16, 2024 | HIPAA

Although most entities subject to HIPAA spend considerable time and effort protecting their electronic networks from the latest hacking scam, malware, or ransomware variant, it is important to remember that electronic access is not the only way to access electronic...

Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies and Confirms that Government Contractors Are Subject to Open Records Act and Can Be Sent Requests Directly

Sep 16, 2024 | Open Records Act

Georgia has a longstanding principle of transparency and sunshine into government operations and public records. When the General Assembly amended the Open Records Act in 2012, the legislature emphasized the “the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open...

Walgreens Pays Over $106 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Case

Sep 15, 2024 | DOJ, False Claims Act, Fraud Investigations, Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid

Late last week, the Department of Justice announced that Walgreen had agreed to pay over $106 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing government health care programs for prescriptions that were never dispensed. According to the...

Four Pharmacy Owners Convicted of Health Care and Wire Fraud

Sep 11, 2024 | Government Investigations, Health Care Fraud

On September 6, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a federal jury convicted four pharmacy owners—Raef Hamaed of Maricopa County, Arizona; Kindy Ghussin of Greene County, Ohio; Ali Abdelrazzaq of Macomb County, Michigan; and Tarek Fakhuri of Windsor,...

Medical Device “Upcoding” Leads to $700,000 FCA Settlement