Archive for the ‘Justice Department’ tag
UBS Client Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Return, Hid $8 Million in Secret Swiss Bank Accounts no comments
New York Toy Manufacturer Representative Used Nominee Entities, Offshore Credit Cards, Sham Loans
Jeffrey P. Chernick, of Stanfordville, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to charges of filing a false tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Chernick, who owns a corporation which represents toy manufacturers in China and Hong Kong, appeared today before Judge James I. Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $8 million in Swiss bank accounts.
New York State and New York City to Pay Record $540 Million to Settle Allegations of False Claims for Medicaid Funds no comments
The state of New York and New York City have agreed to pay $540 million to settle allegations that they knowingly submitted, or caused to be submitted, false claims for reimbursement for school-based health care services, primarily speech therapy and transportation, provided to Medicaid eligible children from 1990 to 2001, the Justice Department announced today. The settlement is a record federal recovery by the Justice Department for the Medicaid Program.
Medicaid, which is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) inside the Department of Health and Human Services, is a matching program in which the United States shares the cost of medical services for the poor and disabled with the states. Since the early 1990′s, the United States has paid New York State billions of dollars as the federal government’s share of health care costs for services provided to Medicaid-eligible school children under New York’s School Supportive Health Services Program and Preschool Supportive Health Services Program. These programs were developed jointly by New York’s education and health departments to assist local school districts, counties, and other schools in obtaining Medicaid reimbursement for covered diagnostic and health support services provided to students with disabilities.
Endoscopic Technologies to Pay U.S. $1.4 Million to Resolve Allegations of Medicare Fraud no comments
Endoscopic Technologies Inc. (Estech), a medical device manufacturer, has agreed to pay the United States $1.4 million to resolve civil claims in connection with the alleged promotion of its surgical ablation devices, the Justice Department announced today. Surgical ablation devices use focused energy to create controlled lesions or scar tissue on a patient’s heart or other organs.
The settlement resolves allegations that the San Ramon, Calif.-based company marketed its medical devices to treat atrial fibrillation (the most common cardiac arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm), a use that is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The government also alleged that Estech promoted expensive heart surgeries using the company’s devices when less invasive alternatives were appropriate, advised hospitals to up-code surgical procedures using the company’s devices to inflate Medicare reimbursements, and paid kickbacks to healthcare providers to use its devices. The United States asserted that by engaging in this conduct, Estech knowingly violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims in violation of the False Claims Act.
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