Posts Tagged ‘Health law offices of Anthony C. Vitale’
Cigna to Pay $173M to Settle False Claims Act Litigation Filed by Whistleblower
Health insurance giant Cigna agreed to pay nearly $173 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false diagnosis codes under the federal Medicare Advantage program to increase its payments. In a lawsuit filed last year, the feds alleged that between 2014 and 2019, Cigna submitted to the Centers for…
Read MoreDermatology Company Settles Violations of Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute
A Texas-based dermatology management company recently agreed to pay the U.S. government approximately $8.9 million, including $5.9 million in restitution, to settle self-reported allegations of potential violations of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute resulting in liability under the False Claims Act. The Settlement Agreement According to the settlement agreement, from January 2013 to…
Read MoreFlorida Nurse Practitioner Guilty in Healthcare Fraud Scheme
A South Florida advanced registered nurse practitioner convicted for her role in a healthcare fraud scheme that billed Medicare more than $200 million in false and fraudulent claims, faces the possibility of decades behind bars. Thousands of Fraudulent Orders Signed Elizabeth Hernandez of Homestead was indicted in April 2022 on ten counts relating to her…
Read MoreBrain Health Scan Company Founder Settles False Claims Act Whistleblower Lawsuit
The co-founder of a New York-based company that purported to provide brain health scans (EEGs) for early detection of cognitive impairments has agreed to pay $220,000 to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act. The company, Evoke Neuroscience Inc., also will pay $225,000. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, David Hagedorn, Evoke’s co-founder…
Read MoreMaryland MD Convicted in COVID-19 Fraud Case with Nationwide Ties
A Maryland doctor who was one of 18 people indicted in April 2022 as part of a nationwide crackdown on COVID-19-related fraud has been convicted on five counts of healthcare fraud. According to court documents and evidence presented during trial, between March 2020 and December 2021, Ron Elfenbein submitted more than $15 million in false…
Read MorePharmacy Company’s Chief Compliance Officer Convicted in Medicare Fraud Scheme
A Florida man whose job it was to make sure that no healthcare fraud is committed recently was convicted by a federal jury of doing just that – committing Medicare fraud. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Steven King of Miramar served as the chief compliance officer for a pharmacy holding company…
Read MoreHHS-OIG Details Successes of Efforts to Curb Healthcare Fraud and Abuse in Semiannual Report to Congress
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) recently released its Semiannual Report to Congress touting its many successes but also adding that a lack of funding has resulted in an inability to go after even more healthcare fraud and abuse. “We are turning down 300 to 400 viable…
Read MoreWPB Man Sentenced for Role in $7M DME Fraud, Kickback and False Claim Scheme
A West Palm Beach man was sentenced to a little more than five years in prison and ordered to pay $7 million in restitution for his part in a durable medical equipment (DME) fraud scheme. Christopher Margait pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud by fraudulently trafficking in orders for durable medical equipment such…
Read MoreIllinois Healthcare System Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleging Overpayment for Services for $12.5M
A whistleblower lawsuit filed against St. Elizabeth’s Hospital of the Hospital Sisters Health System in Illinois has been settled for $12.5 million. The multi-institutional healthcare system that sponsors 15 hospitals in 14 communities across Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as an integrated physician network, is alleged to have committed billing errors that may have resulted…
Read MoreTwo Miami Doctors Sentenced for $31 Million in False Medicare Claims as Part of a DME Fraud Scheme
A pair of Miami doctors recently were sentenced for their parts in a scheme to steal from Medicare by making more than $31 million in false DME claims. Dr. Dean Zusmer, a chiropractor, was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution. Dr. Lawrence Alexander, an…
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