July 23, 2020

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $49 Million Settlement With Biotech Testing Company For Fraudulent Billing And Kickback Practices

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health, Office of Inspector General ("HHS OIG"), Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service ("DCIS"), and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"), Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office ("VA OIG"), announced today a $49 million settlement with PROGENITY, INC. ("PROGENITY"), a San Diego-based biotechnology company that provides molecular and diagnostic tests.

July 23, 2020

Pharmacy Owners Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Tax Evasion in $200 Million Compounding Pharmacy Scheme

Jackson, Miss. - Glenn Doyle Beach, 47, of Sumrall, Mississippi and Hope Thomley, 53, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett for conspiring to commit health care fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering and tax evasion. Judge Starrett also sentenced Howard "Randy" Thomley, 61, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle Sutphin, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi, Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew M. Thornton of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-Cl), Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Bruce of Defense Criminal Investigative Services (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, and Interim Director Steven Maxwell of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN).

July 23, 2020

San Diego Laboratory Admits Fraudulent TRICARE Billing; Agrees to Pay $49 Million

San Diego-based clinical laboratory Progenity, Inc. admitted today that it submitted fraudulent bills to TRICARE, the Department of Defense health care benefit program that covers military service members and their dependents, and to the Federal Health Care Employee Benefits Program (FEHBP), for clinical tests that it knew were not covered or properly payable by either program.

July 23, 2020

Man Sentenced for Theft of Military Property

A Louisiana man was sentenced today to 25 months in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution to the United States Army for theft of property belonging to the United States military, and for aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, Bryan Allen, 35, used his position as property book officer for the 4th Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, to steal items, and then cover the thefts by decreasing the electronic inventory, which reduced the number of those items expected to be located in a physical inventory. On at least one occasion, Allen forged the signature of another soldier to cover his theft. The stolen property included 43 enhanced night vision goggles, a U.S. military sensitive item made to military specifications, which require "demilitarization" and disposal/destruction in accordance with Department of Defense policies.

July 21, 2020

Former deputy director of Signal Network Enterprise Center at Fort Gordon sentenced to federal prison

AUGUSTA, Ga: A former official at Fort Gordon has been sentenced to federal prison for lying to investigators about his disclosure of confidential information used to award competitive bids.

July 21, 2020

Dentist and Nurse Practitioner Sentenced to Prison For Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud

Gregory Parker, 51, of Laurel, Mississippi and Brantley Paul Nichols, D.M.D., 42, of Oxford, Mississippi were sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Special Agent in Charge Michelle Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi, and Special Agent in Charge Cyndy Bruce of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's ("DCIS") Southeast Field Office.

July 20, 2020

DOJ settles False Claims Act allegations against drug testing lab with operations in Tacoma and Denver

The U.S. Department of Justice and Sterling Healthcare Opco, LLC d/b/a/Cordant Health Solutions (Cordant), today settled a civil suit alleging Cordant illegally paid kickbacks to generate urine testing business from government insured consumers. Cordant has agreed to pay various government healthcare programs $11,942,913 to settle the allegations. Twenty percent of the settlement will go to the relater who first filed a qui tam case regarding the conduct in 2015, alerting the government to the misconduct.

July 16, 2020

Fort Worth Company Owner Pleads Guilty To Lying to Defense Department

A Fort Worth man has been sentenced to more than four-and-a-half years in federal prison for lying to the U.S. Department of Defense about the metal used inside his company’s aircraft parts, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox. Richard Ross Hyde, the 64-year-old owner of Vista Manufacturing Company, pleaded guilty in August 2019 to making a false claim against the United States. He was sentenced Thursday to 55 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.

July 13, 2020

27 Skilled Nursing Facilities Controlled by Longwood Management Corp. to Pay $16.7 Million to Resolve Allegations of Inflated Medicare Bills

Longwood Management Corporation and 27 affiliated skilled nursing facilities (Longwood) have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable or necessary, the Department of Justice announced today. Longwood is headquartered in Los Angeles, and the 27 skilled nursing facilities are located in Southern California.

July 13, 2020

San Diego Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Fraud Against TRICARE

SAN DIEGO - Dr. Marco Antonio Chavez was sentenced to 21 months in custody and ordered to pay restitution of $783,764.37 for defrauding TRICARE, the health care benefits program for military service members and their dependents.