Whistleblower Blog Archives - Page 29 of 36

Whistleblower Blog

Latest IRAQ FRAUD Report by Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

February 2, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We saw yesterday’s quarterly audit report on Iraq fraud, published by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), Stuart Bowen Jr. The message is sobering:

“The security situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, hindering progress in all reconstruction sectors and threatening the overall reconstruction effort,” in the words of the Inspector General.

We all have already seen reports of how the United States is being exploited by dishonest and incompetent contractors in Iraq. This IG Report discusses not only poor security, but also
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Government Joins Whistleblower Case Against Pharmaceutical Firm for Overcharging on Generic Drugs

February 1, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We saw another significant whistleblower case against a drug company hit the news wire this week.

The government announced that it was joining a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act against the company Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane, Inc. The Complaint alleges overcharging on pharmaceutical products.

In joining this lawsuit, the United States has alleged that the drug company engaged in a “scheme to report fraudulent and inflated prices for several pharmaceutical products, knowing that federal health care programs established reimbursement rates based on those reported prices.”

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Progress with the New IRS Rewards Program for Tax Whistleblower Cases

January 31, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We have been working with the IRS to bring information about large tax cheating to the IRS’s attention, so that clients can participate in the new IRS Whistleblower rewards. The IRS officials sound excited to have this new tool at their disposal, and we are happy to help our whistleblower clients obtain the new rewards. Our latest one deals with fraud in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, where the public and government have been cheated out of what appears to be many millions of
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Hurricane Katrina Fraud: The Government’s Inspectors General Continue to Investigate Fraud and Whistleblower Reports

January 26, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We all remember how Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita left the Gulf Coast devastated. As government agencies began to provide disaster relief with public dollars, dishonest contractors saw a huge opportunity for fraud against the government. Too many FEMA contracts have been the targets of dishonest contractors.

The “watchdogs” of the federal government agencies–the various Inspectors General of the many agencies involved in Katrina relief–have combined their efforts and sent hundreds of auditors to the Gulf region to examine fraud and mismanagement of Katrina

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New IRS Whistleblower Rewards Statute

January 26, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We hear from many lawyers and clients that they are not aware of the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program. The new provisions took effect on December 20, 2006, and yet so far they are locate on the web.

We hope it is helpful to you to find the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards amendments here, in the amended version of the statute:

26 U.S.C. § 7623.

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Why States Are Passing Their Own Qui Tam Whistleblower Laws

January 24, 2007
Michael Sullivan

I looked into the experiences that states have had with their own False Claims Acts, because almost every state is considering passing its own. I have tried to provide a brief summary that I hope is useful to you.

To encourage states to enact their own False Claims statutes with qui tam whistleblower provisions that are at least as effective as the federal Act, Congress created a large financial incentive when it passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. States that have or enact such acts become eligible as of January 1, 2007, for a 10% increase in the state’s share of Medicaid fraud recoveries.

Many states, therefore, will consider whether to follow suit by enacting their own False Claims Act as early as 2007. Thus, it is important to consider other states’ experiences with their own state statutes governing false claims.

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Will Your State Have a State False Claims Act?

January 23, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Finch McCranie, LLP has recently learned that many state government officials, including Governor Perdue of Georgia, have received a proposed State False Claims Act for consideration to be enacted in 2007. Even though the Bill has been drafted and is on his desk, at present, the Bill has not been submitted to the Legislature for consideration. Obviously, this raises a serious question as to why it is that the Governor is delaying action on this important piece of legislation.

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Significant 2006 Verdicts and Settlements of Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases Under the False Claims Act

January 22, 2007
Michael Sullivan

In our multi-part explanation of the federal False Claims Act previously posted, we have summarized the most recent verdicts and settlements of qui tam whistleblower cases (as of December 2006).

We will continue to update you on additional verdicts and settlements of significance.

The Whistleblower Statute: The Text of the False Claims Act

January 22, 2007
Michael Sullivan

We have tried to explain what readers may want to know about how the whistleblower statute works, in our article explaining the False Claims Act. Here is the current language of this law that creates rewards for qui tam whistleblowers:

FALSE CLAIMS ACT
TITLE 31. MONEY AND FINANCE
SUBTITLE III. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 37. CLAIMS
SUBCHAPTER III. CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

3729. False claims

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No More Gifts For Doctors

January 22, 2007
Michael Sullivan

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations revised its Code of Ethics on January 1 of this year for the first time in a decade. Under the newly revised Code of Ethics, members of the trade group which represents pharmaceutical companies worldwide may no longer provide “expensive gifts” or paid trips to physicians. While the code allows members to provide physicians with gifts that are related to prescription drugs that are inexpensive such as pens, paperweights, stethoscopes and other de mini’s gifts, the new

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IRS to Scrutinize Derivatives–Do They Allow Offshore Investors to Avoid Withholding Taxes on U.S. Stock Dividends?

July 20, 2007
Michael Sullivan

IRS Seeks Documents from Citigroup and Lehman Brothers Holdings on Derivatives

Now that Congress has created a meaningful IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program, tax whistleblower attorneys took note of yesterday’s report that the IRS is looking into whether derivatives trades for hedge funds and other investors are being used to avoid tax withholding obligations, according to the Wall Street Journal yesterday. The IRS reportedly has issued “Information Document Requests” to Citigroup and Lehman Brothers Holdings to find out.

As Reuters reports, the derivatives trades in
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Pharmaceutical Company Bristol Settles Massachusetts Lawsuit Over Pricing of Drugs

July 20, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Alleged Overcharging for Prescription Drugs Leads to $13 Million Settlement in Boston

Pharmaceutical fraud harms the Medicare and Medicaid programs–and the citizens who pay for them. Drug companies’ alleged overcharging for prescription drugs has led to fraud investigations and lawsuits by whistleblower attorneys in the past. This week, shortly before trial, pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. reportedly agreed to pay $13 million to resolve allegations that it overcharged for its Taxol cancer medicine and other drugs.

The settlement follows a ruling last month
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In Case Alleging Fraud Against IRS in Misuse of Tax Shelters by Former KPMG Partners, Judge Dismisses Charges Against 13 Defendants

July 16, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Most Defendants in KPMG Case Escape Prosecution–At Least For Now

As we have written about previously, abusive and fraudulent tax shelters promoted by accounting firms are high on the list of conduct that the IRS (and IRS tax whistleblowers) seek to stop. Today, the government’s prosecution of 13 former KPMG partners and other executives was derailed–at least for now–when the trial judge dismissed charges against them, while allowing the charges to remain against other defendants.

Judge Lewis Kaplan had already ruled that these defendants’
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IRS Declares That Tax Fraud and Evasion from Back-Dating of Stock Options Is a Top Priority

July 15, 2007
Michael Sullivan

IRS Tax Whistleblowers with Knowledge of Stock Option Backdating Should Take Note

Now that the IRS has an effective IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program for whistleblowers who report tax fraud, tax evasion, or other violations of the Internal Revenue laws, the IRS’ recent announcement of focusing on back-dating of stock options should be interesting. In continuing our past discussions of claims under the IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program, we point out the tax fraud that the IRS has decided to target involving back-dated stock options.

The IRS recently announced that backdating of stock options is a “Tier I Compliance Issue and therefore is a mandatory examination item for taxpayers with backdated stock option grant and/or exercise prices.”

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False Claims Act Case Against Texas Computer Services Firm Is Settled

July 12, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Fraud and False Claims by Government Contractor in Dallas Leads to $2.6 Million Settlement with Justice Department

The statute most used by whistleblowers and whistleblower attorneys has resulted in yet another recovery of money for false claims. The Justice Department has announced that Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) has agreed to pay more than $2.6 million to settle a False Claims Act case.

The government alleged that ACS, from 2002-2005, inflated its claims for payment of government funds for recruiting and enrolling individuals in various
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New State False Claims Act with Qui Tam Whistleblower Provisions Is Signed in Florida

July 7, 2007
Michael Sullivan

AARP Applauds State Law to Combat Medicaid Fraud with Qui Tam Whistleblower Approach

We were pleased to see that Florida has joined New York, Georgia, Oklahoma and more than a dozen other states in creating a State False Claims Act with qui tam whistleblower provisions similar to the federal False Claims Act. As we have discussed at length on this whistleblower lawyer blog, Congress has created financial incentives for states to pass whistleblower laws with qui tam
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Medicare Fraud Convictions for Florida Home Health Care Operator for False Claims

July 6, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Durable Medical Equipment Company Received Kickbacks from Pharmacy Owners in Health Care Fraud Case

In a Medicare fraud case of interest to whistleblowers and whistleblower attorneys, a Miami a federal jury convicted a home health care operator of conspiracy to defraud and submit false claims and receive kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and three counts of receiving kickbacks. Gisela Valladares, owner of PRN Home Health Care, Inc., faces up to 30 years in prison.

According to the Justice Department,
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Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Pursued for Medicaid Fraud by Texas Attorney General’s Office

June 27, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Whistleblower Reveals Alleged Drug Price Schemes to Defraud Medicaid

When drug companies hide the true prices charged for prescription drugs, the pharma companies can violate laws protecting state Medicaid programs from being defrauded by “overpaying” for drugs. The experienced Medicaid fraud prosecutors of the Texas Attorney General’s Office have announced such allegations against three pharmaceutical manufacturers for tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid fraud in Texas.

For pharmaceutical products to be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement, the law generally requires that manufacturers accurately report
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Home Health Care Operator Receives Prison Time for Medicare Fraud

June 26, 2007
Michael Sullivan

False Claims Act Case Continues Over Health Care Fraud Allegations

As other whistleblower attorneys who were former federal prosecutors know, Medicare fraud may sometimes lead not only to a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit, but also to prison time for the guilty party. A former home health care company owner now faces almost three years in prison after being convicted of defrauding Medicare of more than $1 million.

U. S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds in Detroit sentenced Amjad Khan, a certified public accountant
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Nursing Home Abuse and Fraud Exposed by Nurses in Qui Tam Whistleblower Case

June 24, 2007
Michael Sullivan

Medicare Fraud and Medicaid Fraud Alleged by Nurses at Nursing Homes

Two nurses disturbed by nursing home abuse and neglect of nursing home residents–who apparently were subjected to gross nursing home malpractice–are the “whistleblowers” in a nursing home False Claims Act qui tam lawsuit in Missouri, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis has recently announced it has joined. The whistleblower suit alleges that the nursing home operator defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by providing care that was essentially “worthless” to the nursing home
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