Home Health Agency and Former Owner to Pay $5.8 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

DOJ

Doctor’s Choice Home Care, Inc. and its former owners, Timothy Beach and Stuart Christensen, have agreed to pay $5.15 million to resolve allegations that the home health agency provided improper financial inducements to referring physicians through sham medical director agreements and bonuses to physicians’ spouses who were Doctor’s Choice employees, the Department of Justice announced today.

The allegations resolved in this settlement were originally brought in two lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. read more »

Employee of Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Kickback Charges

DOJ

An employee of a government contractor pleaded guilty today to his involvement in a scheme to overbill a contract administered by the General Services Administration (GSA) by approximately $1.25 million, and solicit and receive kickbacks from a subcontractor in exchange for providing that subcontractor valuable contract modifications. read more »

Former CEO And COO Of Publicly Traded Biopharmaceutical Company Found Guilty of Accounting Fraud

SDNY

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that, following a four-week trial, PARKER H. “PETE” PETIT, the former chief executive officer of MiMedx Group, Inc. (“MiMedx”), a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, was convicted of securities fraud, and WILLIAM TAYLOR, the former chief operating officer of MiMedx, was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, to make false statements in SEC filings, and to mislead the conduct of audits.  The convictions stem from their participation in a scheme to fraudulently inflate MiMedx’s revenue.