The U.S. Department of Justice today announced a $4.4 million settlement with spine surgeon Wilson Asfora in a whistleblower case. According to a news release from the Joseph Greenwald & Laake law firm, which represented the whistleblowers, Asfora settled for the $4.4 million sum and a six-year exclusion from all federal payer programs, effectively precluding […]
U.S. Justice Dept. (DOJ)
Feds charge medical testing company with fraud
A federal grand jury has charged the uBiome co-founders with multiple federal crimes, including two fraud charges, money laundering and more. Now bankrupt, uBiome was founded by Zachary Apte, 36, and Jessica Richman, 46, in 2012 as a medical testing company that performed diagnostic analysis on fecal samples. The company offered a direct-to-consumer service called […]
Medtronic paying DOJ $9.2M to settle restaurant kickback allegations
The U.S. Justice Dept. (DOJ) announced that Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) will pay a total of about $9.2 million to settle improper payment allegations. Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic agreed to pay $8.1 million to resolve allegations of False Claims Act violations regarding kickbacks for a South Dakota neurosurgeon, along with an additional $1.11 million related to allegations of Open […]
South Dakota provider to pay $20m to settle POD case
The U.S. Justice Dept. said yesterday that Sanford Health, Sanford Medical Center and Sanford Clinic of Sioux Falls, S.D., agreed to pay more than $20 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs. The allegations include violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and medically unnecessary spinal surgeries, according to a statement […]
ResMed reveals tentative $40m settlement with feds
ResMed (NYSE:RMD) last week revealed a tentative, $40 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Dept. to resolve a three-year probe into its resupply business. The San Diego-based respiratory company said it set aside $41.2 million to cover the $39.5 million settlement and any legal and administrative costs. In July 2016 the Justice Dept. subpoenaed ResMed for […]
Baxter cleared from DoJ antitrust saline probe
Baxter (NYSE:BAX) said yesterday that it has been cleared from a U.S. Dept. of Justice antitrust probe, launched in 2017, investigating companies that market intravenous saline solutions. The probe came as hospitals endured a shortage of intravenous saline solutions, which are used to hydrate hospital patients. The shortage dates back to late 2013, after drugmakers told […]
Feds indict 9 in $950m Operation “Spinal Cap” fraud case
US federal prosecutors with the Department of Justice this week unsealed charges against nine new defendants they claim are part of a long-running healthcare fraud case responsible for more than $950 million in fraudulent claims. The fraud scheme was reportedly run by former Long Beach, Calif.-based Pacific Hospital owner Michael Drobot, who was involved in […]
Former S.D. dentist pleads guilty to $17m medtech fraud scheme
A former dentist from South Dakota plead guilty last week to a $16.6 million scheme to defraud consumers through the sale of a sham laser device and associated treatments, promising it would cure more than 200 different conditions, according to a US Department of Justice report. If you want a dentist you can really trust […]
Medical device enforcement is getting more serious—particularly in Northeast
There has been aggressive momentum on the side of federal medical device anti-corruption enforcers, in particular in the Northeast. Maureen Ruane and Scott McBride, Lowenstein Sandler There are more questions than answers on what a new and unconventional administration in the White House will do in 2017 in many areas, no less so in medical […]
Shire to pay feds $350m to settle DermaGraft kickbacks case
The U.S. Justice Dept. said yesterday that Shire (NSDQ:SHPG) and its subsidiaries will cough up $350 million to settle allegations that Shire and the company it acquired in 2011, Advanced BioHealing, gave kickbacks to clinics and physicians in exchange for using its bioengineered human skin substitute, Dermagraft. “This settlement represents the largest False Claims Act recovery by the […]
Ex pharma execs first to be charged in generic drug pricing case
Former Heritage Pharmaceuticals CEO Jeffrey Glazer and ex-president Jason Malek were hit yesterday with the 1st criminal charges from a 2-year federal investigation in an ongoing generic drug pricing case. The 2 former executives were charged by federal authorities with price collusion for doxycycline hyclate, a widely used antibiotic, and a diabetes therapy called glyburide […]
