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A False Claims Act lawsuit has been revived involving the materials supplier Toyobo and the now-defunct Second Chance Body Armor Inc., which produced bulletproof vests that they knew could be defective. The federal General Services Administration brought a fraudulent inducement claim against the companies in 2015, but a prior federal judge had granted summary judgment (a decision without trial) to the manufacturers and then ruled again in their favor in 2016.
False Claims Act case allowed for undisclosed body armor defects
Supreme Court to rule on how Dodd-Frank affects whistleblowers
The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that it will review the application of the Dodd-Frank Act to whistleblowing activity in the financial sector. The vice president of a San Francisco-based company was fired when he told senior management at his firm that his supervisor had apparently done away with some internal controls, which violated securities law.
400+ healthcare professionals accused of Medicare/Medicaid fraud
The Justice Department has just announced what it calls the "largest health care fraud takedown operation in American history." 412 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other licensed medical professionals have been charged with a massive kickback scheme involving the prescription of opioid medications. The scheme allegedly involved $1.3 billion in false billing to Medicare, Medicaid and TRiCARE insurance, and people were charged in 41 federal districts.
Whistleblower receives $9.2 million in False Claims Act case
In a case quite similar to a case we settled, the Pacific Alliance Medical Center, a hospital in Los Angeles, has agreed to settle allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to doctors and submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The hospital has agreed to pay $31.9 million to the federal government, which includes $9.2 million for a former manager who blew the whistle. The company will also pay $10 million to the state of California.
