May 30, 2023 | False Claims Act
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Vasso Godiali, a Michigan vascular surgeon, was sentenced to 6.5 years (80 months) in prison following a plea agreement. Dr. Godiali pled guilty to defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers by...
May 30, 2023 | False Claims Act
On May 25, 2023, U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker denied motions to dismiss a False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit brought by two whistleblowers over an alleged medical kickback scheme. The whistleblowers filed a qui tam suit in the Southern District of Georgia in 2018,...
May 30, 2023 | Employment Law
The DOJ announced that 10 additional employers have agreed to pay civil penalties for posting job advertisements that discriminated against non-U.S. citizens on Georgia Institute of Technology’s (Georgia Tech) job recruitment platform. Since June 2022, the DOJ has...
May 17, 2023 | White Collar Crime
The DOJ announced that Kelly McCallum pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and one count of health care fraud. McCallum was an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) operating Convenient Care Clinic in Dyersburg, Tennessee....
May 17, 2023 | False Claims Act
On Monday, May 15, 2023, U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright entered judgment against Defendants Precision Lens and its owner Paul Ehlen in the amount of $487 million for violations of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”). In February...
May 17, 2023 | Cyber Law, Data Breach
On May 9, the Department of Justice announced Joseph James O’Connor, a 23-year-old U.K. citizen, pleaded guilty in New York to his role in cyberstalking and multiple schemes that involve computer hacking, including the July 2020 hack of Twitter. O’Connor, aka...
May 17, 2023 | False Claims Act, Fraud Investigations
On May 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announces that a hospital and hospitalist group agreed to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The settlement resolved federal and state allegations. According to the press release, between...
May 10, 2023 | Government Investigations
While Pharmacists are usually subject to the same fraud, waste, and abuse rules as other medical providers and those that do business with the government, pharmacists have enjoyed less publicity when it comes to enforcement actions – though they have been targets of...
May 10, 2023 | False Claims Act
Last month, Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) agreed to settle allegations that it overbilled the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for genetic tests performed by GeneDx, LLC (GeneDx), a third party laboratory used by LabCorp to perform genetic testing for...
May 10, 2023 | Fraud Investigations
Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams, and the government continues in its efforts to eradicate it as such. Last year, Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert advised “taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant.” The...
