DermaTran, other pharmacies settle with DOJ over pain cream false claims
By 
Adrianne Appel2022-10-14T18:53:00
A former compounding pharmacy, a related pharmacy billing company, and three retail pharmacies agreed to pay more than $6.8 million to settle alleged violations of the False Claims Act for participating in a scheme to charge patients in federal health programs hundreds of dollars above the real price for pain relief creams.
An accountant working for the compounding pharmacy, DermaTran Health Solutions, blew the whistle on the alleged fraud and filed a lawsuit against the company in 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. In line with the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, she will receive more than $1.4 million, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release Wednesday.
DermaTran opened in 2012 to make and sell custom pain creams. At the same time, a separate company, Pharmacy Insurance Administrators (PIA), was created to handle the billing for DermaTran.
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
ArticleSutter Health to pay $13M for lab testing false claims
Sutter Health agreed to pay more than $13 million for violating the False Claims Act by billing the United States for toxicology tests it did not conduct but outsourced to other labs, the Department of Justice announced.
-
PremiumDelayed UK antitrust case underscores compliance, reputational risks
Antitrust infringement cases in the United Kingdom can run on for years, but there’s a question whether issuing fines that are dwarfed by the revenues of those organisations involved is a worthy deterrent—particularly if they are imposed over a decade after the misconduct ended. It’s also debatable whether the first ...
-
PremiumEthics education is key, says Tom Hardin AKA “Tipper X”
Tom Hardin AKA “Tipper X” went from a young trader with his whole career ahead of him to an inside trader who got caught, acted as a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant for two years, and pleaded guilty to a felony.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefFTC sues Uber over deceptive subscriptions, a rare move for consumers by Trump officials
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging the ride-hailing company signed customers up for its Uber One subscription without consent, then made it hard for them to cancel. The move marks the U.S. government’s latest broadside against big tech companies, and the first major action from ...
-
News BriefCFPB pullback signals further shift toward industry-friendly regulation
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to unravel amid pressure from Trump administration officials to shutter the agency. Not only has the agency informed its employees that it will no longer be a watchdog for the financial services industry, it has also laid off employees despite court orders blocking ...
-
News BriefTrump’s CFPB, dismissing Comerica case, continues to cut down Biden-era lawsuits
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped yet another consumer protection lawsuit against a bank or fintech provider since Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January. This time, it was with Comerica Bank.