The Department of Justice announced that pharmaceutical companies Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie Inc. (“Abbott”) will pay $25 million to resolve allegations that it employed kickbacks and unlawful methods of marketing and promotion to induce physicians to prescribe the drug TriCor. The lawsuit was initially filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. That whistleblower will receive $6.5 million as her share of the recovery.
A federal judge in Kentucky has sentenced Dr. Anis Chalhoub to 42 months in federal prison for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurers. Specifically, Dr. Chalhoub defrauded these programs by implanting medically unnecessary pacemakers in his patients and billing for unnecessary procedures and follow-up care. In addition to the prison sentence, Dr. Chalhoub with have to repay $257,515 and pay a $50,000 fine. Click here to read more.
A federal jury found two home health owners and two employees guilty for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare and Medicaid for over $3.7 million in charges when the owners had been excluded from participating in federal health care benefit programs. The Department of Justice announced that each of four have been convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, the two owners have each been convicted of two counts of false statement in connection with a health care benefit program.
To learn more about our Whistleblower & Qui Tam practice click here. Our firm is located in Nashville, Tennessee but we represent whistleblowers all around the country. Call us today at (615) 244-2202.
Contact us today for a free consultation. We are here to work for you!