$6.5 Million Settlement with Cardiologist and His Medical Practice for Paying Millions in Kickbacks for Referrals: In 2023, the Office filed and settled a civil fraud lawsuit against a cardiologist and his medical practice, Gramercy Cardiac Diagnostic Services P.C. (“Gramercy Cardiac”), alleging that he paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to physicians and their practices for patient referrals. The kickbacks took the form of inflated office “rental payments” and fees paid to contracted cardiologists.
$678 Million Anti-Kickback Statute Settlement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals for Operating Sham Speaker Programs: In 2020, the Office reached a $678 million settlement of its healthcare fraud lawsuit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Novartis”), resolving claims that Novartis violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by providing doctors with cash payments, recreational outings, lavish meals, and expensive alcohol to induce them to prescribe Novartis’s cardiovascular and diabetes drugs, which were then reimbursed by federal healthcare programs. The Government alleged that Novartis organized tens of thousands of sham speaker events at high-end restaurants and other venues and paid exorbitant speaker fees to doctors who gave no meaningful presentations. When those doctors then prescribed Novartis’s drugs, federal healthcare programs paid hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements for these tainted prescriptions.
Healthcare Fraud – Fraudulent...
A bevy of false claims flooded social media after Wednesday’s fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kirk, 31, was gunned down while speaking at an event in Orem, Utah. Two days la...