Mark Morad, the man who cooked up a $56 million Medicare fraud scheme, and his accomplice doctor pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Louisiana to various health care fraud charges. According to a September 2014, indictment Mr. Morad directed a massive Medicare fraud scheme through multiple companies he …
Supreme Court Rejects Whistleblower’s Double-Dip Attempt
December 9, 2014 Leave a Comment
On Monday the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Danny Smart’s appeal of the Fifth Circuit’s rejection of his attempt to share in the proceeds of a $5 million settlement of a False Claims Act suit brought by another whistleblower against Texas hospital chain Christus Health. In 2005 Danny blew the …
November Generality-in-Pleading Award
November 11, 2014 Leave a Comment
We’re only one-third of the way through the month of November, but we already have a winner of November’s Generality-in-Pleading Award. The hands-down winner is Dr. Warren Troxler, whose False Claims Act whistleblower suit against his former employer, Warren Clinic, was thrown out of court last Wednesday for …
Third Circuit Tightens “Original Source” Requirement for Whistleblowers
October 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
Back in 2003 Karl Schumann filed a whistleblower suit alleging that as an executive with benefits company Medco, he learned that Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca paid kickbacks to Medco to buy and recommend brand name drugs. The federal government investigated for six years and decided not to …
Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Worthlessness of Worthless Services Cases
October 20, 2014 Leave a Comment
In August the Seventh Circuit expressed its view that so-called “worthless services” cases don’t state a claim under the False Claims Act. Last Friday the court reaffirmed its view by refusing to rehear the case en banc. The theory of a worthless services case is that a nursing home or other provider …
And You Thought a One-Third Contingency Was High
October 17, 2014 Leave a Comment
On Tuesday a federal court in Illinois awarded fees of $200,000 to attorneys for a whistleblower in a False Claims Act action. Not impressed? Well, consider this: the whistleblower got a little less than $30,000. Figured on a contingency basis, that’s an 87% fee. As usual, there’s more to it than …