Cornerstone Healthcare Group will pay more than $21.6 million to settle allegations it filed false claims to Medicare by inflating the cost of services, billing for unauthorized services, and other violations initially brought forward by a whistleblower.
Whistleblowers
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
False Claims Act settlements net lower return in FY2022
Penalties assessed for violations of the False Claims Act topped $2.2 billion during fiscal year 2022, less than half the mark the Department of Justice reached the previous year.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Activision Blizzard fined $35M by SEC over workplace harassment disclosures
Activision Blizzard will pay $35 million to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission charges it violated federal securities laws by failing to adequately disclose how its ineffective response to workplace complaints was harming its ability to hire and retain skilled employees.
Posted inRisk Management
JBS accused of greenwashing in SEC whistleblower complaint
Brazilian meat processing company JBS faces accusations of issuing $3.2 billion worth of “misleading and fraudulent” sustainability bonds in a whistleblower complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
J&J unit to pay $9.75M to settle kickback suit
A Johnson & Johnson medical device subsidiary admitted to providing thousands of dollars in equipment as kickbacks to an orthopedic surgeon as part of a $9.75 million settlement reached with the Department of Justice.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
BioTelemetry to pay $44.8M over India testing false claims
BioTelemetry and CardioNet agreed to pay more than $44.8 million to settle allegations they violated U.S. federal health laws by improperly billing Medicare and other federal programs for heart monitoring and cardiac test analyses performed by a company in India.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Avaya discloses ICFR weaknesses linked to whistleblower logs
Avaya Holdings disclosed its assessment of internal control over financial reporting in its fiscal year 2021 annual report can’t be relied upon, along with acknowledging weaknesses in its ethics and compliance program.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC adds whistleblower retaliation charges against ex-NS8 CEO
Adam Rogas, the former CEO of cyber-fraud prevention company NS8 who was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud, now faces charges of impeding and retaliating against a whistleblower following an amended complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
DOJ seeking Rennova Health return pandemic relief funds
The Department of Justice requested Rennova Health repay Covid-19 relief funds it received in 2020 as part of a whistleblower lawsuit against the healthcare services provider alleging ineligible use of the money.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Ex-BP trader’s failed whistleblower claim to raise U.K. reporting bar?
A U.K. employment tribunal’s ruling that a former BP employee was not entitled to whistleblower protection has shone a spotlight on the legal issues workers must consider ahead of speaking up.
