Clearwater Criminal Defense Law Blog

A major New Jersey pharmaceutical firm has agreed to pay over $642 million to the Federal government to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act (a/k/a "Lincoln's Law") for allegedly paying kickbacks to doctors and allegedly paying illicit copayments to Medicare beneficiaries for those taking two of its drugs.Per investigators, the firm allegedly learned of several hundred patients who were taking a multiple sclerosis drug in late 2012 who would soon become eligible for Medicare the following year. They say the firm helped transition those individuals to Medicare Part D knowing...

A Texas man and wife were sentenced in Federal court today after a guilty verdict and a guilty plea this spring was handed down on charges that they committed $21.8 million in fraud against the Federal government. The 75-year-old man was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Sim Lake of the Southern District of Texas to ten years in prison, and his 68-year-old wife was sentenced to 30 days of home confinement and three years of probation. The husband was convicted in March of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money...

A Chicago-area man is facing Federal fraud charges relating to allegations that he attempted to wrongly obtain over $400,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans earlier this year. According to investigators, the 51-year-old man applied for the loans, which are guaranteed by the Small Business Association (SBA) and authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in order to fill payroll for a firm he owns. To support the claims made in the loan application, the man allegedly submitted several false and fraudulent IRS documents. Among the false forms the...

A handful of pharmacists in the Midwest are facing federal charges of health care fraud after investigators say they participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare of $12.1 million in false claims.Nine individuals from Ohio and Detroit were charged last week in three separate indictments. Each of the defendants was a licensed pharmacist or an owner of a pharmacy in Michigan or Ohio.Per investigators, the nine conspired to bill Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) for prescription medications that were not actually purchased nor dispensed to other individuals. The defendants...

An Odessa mortgage broker was sentenced to 15 months in Federal prison after pleading guilty to a mortgage scheme that allegedly cost local banks of over $5 million.The 41-year-old man entered his guilty plea last fall alongside a Miami Beach developer to making false statements to financial institutions on mortgage loan applications.According to investigators, the defendants began paying down payments for purchasers of condominiums in Temple Terrace in 2006 and claiming to banks that the buyers paid the down payments themselves, making them look to be a better credit risk than they actually...

A trio of individuals are facing Federal felony charges on allegations by investigators that they were involved in schemes to defraud Medicare, TRICARE, and private insurance companies and launder the proceeds of the fraudulent activity. Per investigators, beginning in early 2011 the three men began several efforts at defrauding Medicare and TRICARE by allegedly fraudulently formulating and shipping compounded medicines, then billing insurance providers for the same. Private insurers were allegedly victimized by the trio, accounting for over $13 million of the fraud charged against them. The...