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A whistle-blower will receive $20.75 million for triggering a successful federal inquiry into Medicare and Medicaid fraud at his former Tampa employer, WellCare Health Plans. The man secretly recorded executives discussing ways to double bill for patient services. His award represents his share of the $40 million in restitution received by the United States plus the federal portion of the $137.5 million civil settlement. Verizon Communications has agreed to pay $93.5 million to resolve a whistleblower case involving allegations that it overcharged the U.S. General Services Administration. The U.S. Justice Department found Verizon submitted false claims for reimbursement of property taxes, common-carrier recovery charges and unallowable surcharges. (Read the full story)
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has emerged as a prime adversary of the pharmaceutical industry in whistleblower cases. A news report says the Philadelphia office has recovered nearly $4 billion from drugmakers since 2004, which is almost one-fourth of the total recouped from the industry by all state and federal prosecutors during that period. (Read the full story)
A jury has awarded $424,000 to a firefighter in a whistleblower case. The 20-year veteran firefighter was suspended and denied a promotion to captain after he tried to stop harassment of a colleague and helped a city attorney investigate a pension scandal. The jury also awarded him $60,000 in punitive damages and lost pay from his suspension. (Read the full story)
A former deputy constable who was fired after reporting wrongdoing by his boss has won a $163,000 whistleblower verdict against the county. The deputy had testified at trial that the constable forced him to shake down local bail bond companies for contributions to his re-election campaign. Based in part on that testimony, the constable was indicted on bribery and other charges. The constable later fired the deputy for using excessive force during an arrest. The county currently faces several whistleblower suits involving current and former deputy constables who say they were fired or retaliated against for reporting illegal conduct by their boss. (Read the full story)
GlaxoSmithKline agress to pay $750 million to settle allegations that for years it knowingly sold drugs with questionable safety, including contaminated baby ointment and an ineffective antidepressant. The case came to light when Cheryl Eckard, the company’s quality manager, filed a whistleblower lawsuit after she warned Glaxo of the problems but the company fired her instead of addressing the issues. According to reports, she will receive $96 million as a reward for her role. (Read the full story)
A whistleblower case against a pharmaceutical company ends with a huge nationwide settlement and a $20 million reward for two former workers. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. has agreed to plead guilty and pay $422.5 million in fines and penalties for marketing the anti-epilepsy drug Trileptal for unapproved uses. Of that amount, $201 million will cover its liability from a whistle-blower lawsuit. The company, which illegally marketed Novartis as a treatment for bipolar disorder and nerve pain, targeted sales to psychiatrists and pain specialists, and gave doctors kickbacks in return for prescribing the drug. (Read the full story)
A pharmacy services firm will pay $11.6 million to settle a whistleblower case. The settlement came in response to allegations that the company charged Medicaid more than it did to private insurance companies for certain prescriptions. The suit was filed by a former employee who worked as an accountant handling Medicaid reimbursement for the company. (Read the full story)
An unnamed whistlebower received a $625,000 reward after AtriCure Inc., a medical device company and a provider of cardiac surgical ablation systems, reached a settlement to pay almost $3.8 million to settle claims by the U.S. Justice Department and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services for alleged Medicare fraud. The company had also reportedly been accused of pushing unnecessary heart surgery using its devices and of paying kickbacks. (Read the full story)
FORBA, a company that operates “Small Smiles” Dental Clinics for children, agreed to pay more than $24 million to settle a federal probe that it billed state Medicaid programs for unnecessary dental work for low-income children. The action started when three whistleblowers filed complaints. They reportedly will share more than $2.4 million in reward money. (Read the full story)
If you knew co-workers, former bosses or executives who cheated on their taxes, would you turn them in? The Internal Revenue Service can make it worth your while, says CNNMoney.com (Read the full story)