On July 21, 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (“Booz Allen” or the “Company”), a Virginia-based provider of data analytics, digital solutions, and consulting services, has agreed to pay $377.45 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733 (“FCA”). The settlement, one of the biggest procurement fraud settlements in DOJ history, specifically resolves allegations that Booz Allen…
On September 13, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced its first settlement with a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) lender pursuant to the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The agreement resolves allegations that Prosperity Bank (“Prosperity” or the “Bank”), a regional bank throughout Texas and Oklahoma, improperly processed a PPP loan and secured a processing fee to which it was not entitled. Prosperity agreed to settle the claims for $18,000, and…
On August 18, 2022, a District Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss the False Claims Act lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories, Inc. a/k/a Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., and Abbott Vascular Inc., (collectively, “Abbott” or the “Company”), sustaining the federal claims but dismissing the state claims in the action. The False Claims Act,…
On August 29, 2022, Nathan C. Zipperian of Miller Shah LLP (www.millershah.com), counsel for Plaintiff-Relator, Gregory Kuzma (“Relator”) announced Northern Arizona Healthcare (“NAHC”), Flagstaff Medical Center (“FMC”), and Health First Foundation - Northern Arizona (formerly Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation) (“NAHF”) (collectively, “Defendants”) agreed to pay a total of $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that a 2017 Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (“DSH”) payment of approximately $4.775 million to FMC…
On July 20, 2022, Biogen, Inc. (“Biogen” or the “Company”), formerly known as Biogen Idec, Inc., agreed to pay $900 million to resolve allegations that the Company violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and False Claims Act (“FCA”) by paying physicians to prescribe its Multiple Sclerosis (“MS”) drugs. After a decade of litigation, the parties agreed to settle just one week before trial was set to begin. The FCA allows…
On June 21, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, a False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuit appealed to the Third Circuit after the District Court dismissed at the request of the government. The Supreme Court’s decision is anticipated to resolve a split among the circuit courts of appeal regarding the legal standard applicable when the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) moves to…
On June 15, 2022, a Federal Judge in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona ruled that a lawsuit concerning illegal kickbacks to physicians was fit to proceed, denying Defendants’ attempt to defeat the legal action. The whistleblower lawsuit alleges that Northern Arizona Healthcare Corporation (“NAHC”), Northern Arizona Orthopedic Surgery Center, LLC, and Flagstaff Medical Center, Inc. (together, “Defendants”), which collectively operate healthcare facilities throughout northern Arizona,…
On July 1, 2020, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation (“Novartis”), a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company, agreed to pay over $642 million in separate to resolve alleged violation of the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733. The settlement resolves allegations that Novartis made improperly payments to Medicare patients and prescribing physicians to promote Novartis's drugs, Gilenya and Afinitor. The FCA allows private citizens (known…
On January 6, 2020, Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to a $54 million settlement to resolve a False Claims Act action brought against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Teva Neuroscience, Inc., and Teva Sales and Marketing, Inc. (collectively “Teva”). The settlement resolves allegations that Teva violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute by using speaker events to bribe doctors to prescribe two of its drugs, Copaxone and Azilect. The False Claims…