DOJ’s First Criminal Securities Fraud Prosecution Related to COVID-19 Results in Eight-Year Sentence -
Mark Schena, the former president of Arrayit Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based medical technology company, was...more
10/23/2023
/ Conspiracies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Investors ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Technology Companies ,
Medicare Fraud ,
Restitution ,
Securities Fraud ,
Sentencing ,
Settlement ,
TRICARE ,
Wire Fraud
Surgeon To Pay Up to $43 Million for FCA Fraud -
A Michigan vascular surgeon, Vasso Godiali, was sentenced to 80 months in prison for defrauding health care programs in connection with his submission of false claims for...more
5/30/2023
/ Blue Cross ,
Blue Shield ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Convictions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Investors ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Wire Fraud
Guilty Plea in $250 Million Federal Child Nutrition Fund Fraud Scheme -
A man from Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pled guilty for his involvement in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded...more
1/30/2023
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Forgery ,
Fraud ,
Guilty Pleas ,
IRS ,
Nursing Homes ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Settlement
Pharmacy Owners Plead Guilty to COVID Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme -
Two New York men pled guilty for their alleged involvement in a complex money laundering conspiracy to launder proceeds from a fraudulent health...more
COVID-19 Fraud Update: DOJ Prosecutes More than 150 Defendants, 95 Criminal Cases -
Since the inception of the CARES Act, DOJ’s Fraud Section has prosecuted over 150 defendants in over 95 criminal cases. The Fraud Section...more
9/30/2022
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Genetic Testing ,
IRS ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Payroll Expenses
DOJ Indicts 47 Individuals in Largest COVID-19 Fraud Scheme To Date -
On September 20, 2022, the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced federal criminal charges against 47 defendants from the nonprofit, Feeding Our...more
9/23/2022
/ Compliance Monitoring ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement ,
False Documentation ,
FOIA ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
New Guidance ,
Reimbursements ,
USDA
Jury Orders Eli Lilly To Pay $61 Million -
A federal jury in Illinois found that, beginning around 2004, drug manufacturer Eli Lilly deliberately underpaid rebates to Medicare programs by excluding retroactive drug prices...more
8/8/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Falsified Documents ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Fraud ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Rebates ,
SBA ,
Skilled Nursing Facility ,
Wire Fraud
Former CEO Indicted for Misleading Investors About COVID-19 Test Kits -
A federal grand jury in New Jersey indicted Marc Schessel—the former CEO of SCWorx Corp.—on two counts of securities fraud for allegedly misleading...more
Prosecutors Target Fake COVID-19 Immunization and Vaccination Cards -
In the first federal prosecution related to fraudulent vaccination cards and immunizations for the COVID-19 virus, a California neuropathic doctor, Juli...more
4/11/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Trafficking ,
False Statements ,
FBI ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Opioid ,
SCOTUS ,
Vaccinations
Texas Man Arrested for Alleged COVID-19 Fraud Scheme -
Scott Davis of Harris County, Texas, was charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering for allegedly fraudulently receiving over $3.3 million in Paycheck...more
CEO of Defunct Medical Testing Lab to Pay $1.1 Million to Settle FCA and AKS Case -
Jae Lee, the former CEO of defunct Northwest Physicians Laboratory (NWPL), agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve allegations that he...more
10/22/2021
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
CARES Act ,
Contractors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
Settlement ,
TRICARE ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wire Fraud
John Peter Smith Hospital (JPS) agreed to pay more than $3.3 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by upcoding hundreds of claims submitted to federal healthcare programs.
Texas Hospital to...more
In addition to the ever-growing number of fraud charges brought in connection with the SBA’s PPP program, recent indictments issued across the country in connection with Covid-19 unemployment benefits and economic injury...more
6/7/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Popular ,
SBA ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wire Fraud
COVID-19 Task Force Established to Enhance Enforcement Efforts against Fraud -
On May 17, 2021, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney General announced the establishment of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force,...more
5/24/2021
/ Attorney General ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Falsified Documents ,
Fraud ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
OIG ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SBA ,
Vaccinations ,
Wire Fraud
DOJ Updates Actions to Combat Fraud Related to COVID-19 -
On March 26, 2021, the Department of Justice provided an update on its criminal and civil enforcement efforts to combat fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Senior DOJ Official Michael Granston Discusses COVID Relief Enforcement, Granston Memo, and other FCA Issues -
Michael Granston, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ Civil Division, sat down this week with Jody...more
3/29/2021
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraudulent Procurement ,
Kickbacks ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
OIG ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Relief Measures ,
The Granston Memo ,
Turkey ,
USAID
Individual Prosecutions Down But Corporate Resolutions Steady for DOJ’s Fraud Section in 2020, with More in the Pipeline -
The Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Fraud Section recently released a year-in-review report that...more
3/8/2021
/ Bribery ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Opioid ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
DOJ’s 2020 False Claims Act Recoveries Lowest Since 2008 -
On January 14, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it obtained more than $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving...more
1/25/2021
/ Bribery ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraud ,
IRS ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Qui Tam ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wire Fraud
New York Pharmacy Owners Charged in $30 Million COVID-19 Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering Case -
On December 21, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two owners of over a dozen New York-area...more
1/11/2021
/ California ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Genetic Testing ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Identity Theft ,
Medicare ,
Money Laundering ,
New York ,
Pharmacies ,
Pharmacist ,
State Attorneys General ,
Tennessee ,
Wire Fraud
HHS Announces Formation of FCA Working Group -
On December 4, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it is creating a False Claims Act Working Group to enhance the partnership between...more
12/14/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Integrity Policies ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care ,
Working Groups
HHS Announces Final Rules Amending Stark Law Regulations and Anti-Kickback Statute -
On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published...more
12/7/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Final Rules ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Inflated Projections ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Purdue Pharma ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care
Seven Individuals Charged in $16 Million COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme -
In an indictment unsealed on November 17, seven individuals were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for allegedly submitting at...more
Investment Bank Fined $400 Million For Failing to Remediate Deficiencies in its Risk Management Systems -
On October 7, the Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a consent order...more
10/9/2020
/ Bank Fraud ,
CARES Act ,
Citigroup ,
Consent Order ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Durable Medical Equipment ,
False Statements ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fraud ,
Investment Banks ,
Kickbacks ,
Loan Applications ,
Mail Fraud ,
Medicare Fraud ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Pennsylvania ,
Remediation ,
Risk Management ,
Wire Fraud
DOJ Announces Charges Against 345 Defendants in Historic Nationwide Health Care Fraud and Opioid Takedown -
The DOJ announced a nationwide enforcement action charging 345 defendants across 51 federal districts with...more
10/5/2020
/ Anti-Dumping Agreement ,
Bribery ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Loan Applications ,
Medicare ,
Nonprofits ,
Opioid ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
SBA ,
Settlement ,
Substance Abuse ,
Telecommunications ,
Telemedicine ,
Wire Fraud
Nine Individuals Charged in $24 Million Paycheck Protection Program Fraud Scheme -
In one of the largest COVID-relief fraud cases to date, nine Ohio and Florida individuals are alleged to have conspired to obtain...more
8/17/2020
/ Bank Fraud ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Loan Applications ,
Money Laundering ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Wire Fraud