On November 19, 2013, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that FreshPoint, Inc., the nation’s largest distributor of fresh produce, agreed to settle claims that it defrauded the Department of Defense (“DOD”). FreshPoint, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SYSCO, Corp. who was also listed as a defendant in the qui tam case....
On November 18, 2013, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with Sabine Optical, an optometry office located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, based on allegations of Medicaid fraud. According to the details of the case, Sabine Optical (“Sabine”) which does business as The Vision Center, engaged in a pattern of billing behavior designed to garner...
President Obama has selected Timothy Massad to succeed Gary Gensler as chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Skeptics seem justifiably concerned about Massad’s ability and/or willingness to be tough with Wall Street banks. As a Treasury Department Official, Massad oversaw the bailout of Wall Street’s biggest banks. Prior to joining the Treasury Department,...
Government Contractor Found Liable Today a federal jury in the Central District of California unanimously found JM Eagle liable for defrauding the United States and several individual states. The trial was the first step in the culmination of seven years of contentious litigation. In order to facilitate a smoother proceeding, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu...
Layoffs from Big-Pharma: Do Your Part to Help Fight Pharmaceutical Fraud Unfortunately, many pharmaceutical companies place the pursuit of profits above compliance with the law and the well-being of innocent patients, who place their trust in their products. In order to bolster their bottom line, some Pharma companies engage in fraudulent sales and marketing schemes...
Postal Service Fraud in Virginia Recently revealed court documents allege that Virginia-based Northrop Grumman (“Northrop”) defrauded the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) out of millions of dollars. The allegations could spell trouble for Northrop, a defense and aerospace powerhouse, which regularly contracts with the United States government. The Complaint, filed under the False Claims Act,...
On Monday November 18, 2013, the U.S. Senate passed a bill, by voice-vote, which had earlier cleared the House, moving the legislation on to President Obama’s desk. H.B. 3204 the Drug Quality and Security Act (“DQSA”) passed with bipartisan support, a rare occurrence of late. The DQSA creates a national system which will track the...
Just weeks after being found liable for violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”), Bank of America, Corp. (“BofA”) is again facing allegations of mortgage related fraud. This time the lawsuit asserts that BofA defrauded the federal government and multitudes of borrowers by gaming the Home Affordable Refinance Program (“HARP”). The Federal...
Fortune 500 Software Company to Pay $11 Million to Settle False Claims Act Case Today, CA Technologies, a Fortune 500 company, has agreed to resolve a False Claims Act Complaint for $11 million. The crux of the Complaint, alleges that CA Technologies knowingly double billed its government clients for software renewals on contracts from 2001...
In 2010, in an effort to weed out fraudulent financial misconduct, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. A significant part of this reform package provided for the creation of Whistleblower Reward Program through both the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC Whistleblower Reward Program provides for the payment of an award...