The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded an anonymous foreign whistleblower, who had come forward with information leading to an enforcement action with a regulatory bounty. The tipster is getting $4 million but few details were available regarding the nature of the underlying facts or enforcement action or the identity of the whistleblower. The announcement brings the whistleblower program’s total endowment to over $326 million since issuing its first award in 2012. SEC enforcement actions from tip-offs have resulted in nearly $1.7 billion in fines since the program’s inception in 2011.
East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) and its subsidiary Aperian Laboratory Solutions, LLC agreed to pay $4,250,000, plus attorney’s fees and litigation expenses, to settle claims they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by submitting false payments to Medicare. This settlement was in addition to earlier settlements in this same case of nearly $2.4 million. The whistleblower suit alleged Aperian paid percentage commission kickbacks to Summit Diagnostics and Compass Laboratory Solutions, marketing companies that arranged for doctors nationwide to refer toxicology lab tests to Aperian in Alabama. To read more click here.
A Garden City ophthalmologist will pay nearly $7 million to settle civil fraud claims that he used unapproved drugs purchased overseas on patients and then sought reimbursement by Medicare, the Department of Justice announced Monday. “Dr. Fleckner bypassed the FDA’s regulatory authority by purchasing and administering unapproved pharmaceutical products in violation of Medicare regulations,” Richard Donoghue, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said. “The settlement holds Dr. Fleckner accountable for his actions and ensures that Medicare funds will only be used for FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.”
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