On June 21, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that hinges on whether the federal government can drop cases taken up on its behalf as a qui tam action. The dispute involves whether the government can drop the case regardless of whether the relator or...
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Year: 2022
SEC denies award to a whistleblower
Whistleblowers may be awarded between 10% and 30% of the funds recovered by government agencies. Of course, there are specific rules for getting that money, and one of them is that the whistleblower must voluntarily come forward with useful information for a...
Two charged by DOJ in $1.4 billion health care fraud scheme
The Middle District of Florida convicted two men of a $1.4 billion health care fraud after a 24-day trial. They conspired to fraudulently bill private insurers using a sophisticated pass-through billing system where drug test analyses were reportedly conducted in...
Ernst & Young to pay $100 million to SEC for ethics lapses
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged Ernst & Young LLP for ethics lapses involving audit professionals cheating on their ethics exams, which are required for acquiring and maintaining a CPA license. The company then covered up the lapse by...
Hospitals face penalties for not making prices public
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hit two hospitals in Georgia with $1.1 million in financial penalties for violating the 2021 rules requiring hospitals to share their medical procedures and treatment prices. This change (which the CMS will enforce)...
IRS’s annual whistleblower report prompts criticism
The IRS released its annual report on its whistleblower program. The amount collected dropped from $1.44 billion in 2018 to $245 million in 2022. Whistleblower awards also dropped to about 10% ($34.5 million) of the amount awarded in 2018. This precipitous drop has...
SEC levies penalties for ESG omissions and lies
On May 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged BNY Mellon Investment Advisor with a $1.5 million penalty. BNY Mellon claimed that specific mutual fund investments had passed the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) review when, in reality, they...
Feds bring suit against two company heads running 11 nursing facilities
The Southern District of New York and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have filed a healthcare lawsuit against 11 New York-based defendants. The lawsuit seeks damages and penalties for billing Medicare for unreasonable or unnecessary procedures at 11...
DOJ recovers funds from a medical kickback scheme
A doctor was found liable for violating the False Claims Act by accepting millions in kickbacks. He agreed to repay $2.3 million to settle a civil lawsuit that alleged that the transfers violated the Federal Debt Collections Procedures Act. The doctor was not guilty...
Home healthcare agencies settle claims of not appropriately paying staff
Two licensed home care services agencies in Brooklyn have settled claims of not appropriately paying their staff. The cases were heard in the Eastern District of New York. All American Homecare Agency and Crown of Life violated the federal False Claims Act and New...