Teva settles whistleblower lawsuit for $54M

BECKER’S HOSPITAL REVIEW

Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed Jan. 6 to pay $54 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the drugmaker illegally paid physicians to boost prescriptions for two of its drugs, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The lawsuit, filed in 2013, claimed Teva persuaded physicians to write prescriptions for the drugs Copaxone, a multiple sclerosis treatment, and Azilect, a Parkinson's drug, by paying them as speakers or consultants. Many of the speaker programs were allegedly sham events.

The lawsuit claimed Teva's actions violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibit drugmakers from compensating physicians in any way to persuade them to prescribe their drugs. read more »

NASA contractor settles whistleblower complaint

ABC

A NASA contractor on Monday agreed to settle a whistleblower complaint that accused the company of falsely certifying that ground support equipment for a rocket launch system followed the space agency's requirements.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Orlando said that United Paradyne Corporation reached the settlement over equipment it provided for NASA's Space Launch System rocket and the Orion space capsule, which will send astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit. read more »

N.J. man admits role in scheme to rip off Department of Defense

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIERER

A 49-year-old Burlington County man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Camden to his role in an international scheme to steal millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Hurriyet Arslan, a resident of Willingboro and native of Turkey who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2011, conspired with foreign nationals from Turkey in 2018 to steal money from a Defense Department contract worth more than $23 million for aviation fuel that was to be supplied by a company in South Korea. read more »

How the Pentagon Was Duped by Contractors Using Shell Companies

THE DETROIT NEWS

Shell companies have come under attack for obscuring illicit money flowing into real estate. But it turns out they’re also a problem for the Pentagon.

Some Defense Department suppliers have used such front companies to fraudulently win manufacturing bids, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office study of Defense Department contractors.

In some cases, the shell companies helped contractors obscure that they were making U.S. military equipment abroad, the GAO said, posing a risk to national security and quality control. More often, they were used to win contracts meant for companies owned by disabled veterans or minorities, it said.

The government watchdog reviewed 32 cases that made their way to criminal prosecutions or lawsuits between 2012 and 2018. Taken together, they illustrate how the Pentagon’s $350 billion in annual contracting can be gamed using companies that exist largely on paper. read more »

In last-minute deal, Allergan forks over a hefty $300M to settle pay-for-delay dispute

FIERCEPHARMA

With AbbVie and Allergan almost ready to wrap up their $63 billion megamerger, both drugmakers are looking to clear any outstanding accounts before the deal closes. And Allergan just agreed to fork over $300 million to resolve one of them.

On the eve of a Monday trial, the company agreed to settle pay-for-delay claims against two of its businesses—Warner Chilcott and Watson Pharmaceuticals. read more »

Japan issues arrest warrant for Ghosn’s wife

WASHINGTON POST

Japanese prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn's wife on Tuesday on suspicion of perjury, even as Nissan said it would continue to take legal action to hold its former boss accountable for "serious misconduct." read more »