Advocates for Justice

Taxpayer money is ubiquitous. Unfortunately, where money goes, unscrupulous people follow, and will take advantage of the system to unfairly profit at their nation’s ultimate expense. Fortunately, right-minded humans also exist–who call out these wrongdoers. Also fortunately, whistleblower rewards are available to help battle those trying to game the system and steal tax dollars.

How to be a whistleblower? The primary law used to assist those blowing the whistle on bad behavior is the federal False Claims Act. Whistleblowers may be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action. Whistleblower reward laws and whistleblower reward programs enable qualifying whistleblowers to recover anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the government’s recovery. 

Below are details regarding the top awards under whistleblower programs over the past year. 

$900 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $250 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: August 10, 2022
• Defendant: Biogen Inc.
• Allegation: Paying improper consulting and speaker fees and providing lavish meals and entertainment to medical providers to induce them to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs.
• Total Settlement: $900 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $250 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/biogen-inc-agrees-pay-900-million-settle-allegations-related-improper-physician-payments 

$260 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $29.6 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARDS

• Settlement Date: March 7, 2022
• Defendant: Mallinckrodt ARD LLC
• Allegation: Knowingly underpaying state Medicaid programs by improperly calculating amounts it owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, and unlawfully using a foundation as a conduit to subsidize co-payments.
• Total Settlement: $260 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $24.7 million (of one settlement); $4.9 million (of a simultaneous settlement) 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mallinckrodt-agrees-pay-260-million-settle-lawsuits-alleging-underpayments-medicaid-drug 

$48.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $10.9 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: February 23, 2022
• Defendant: TriMark USA, LLC and related entities
• Allegation: Improperly manipulating federal contract set-asides for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses by enlisting small business to secure the contracts while TriMark actually performed all of the work and received most of the benefits of the federal contract.
• Total Settlement: $48.5 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $10.9 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/government-contractor-agrees-pay-record-485-million-resolve-claims-related-fraudulent 

$45 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $9 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: November 1, 2022
• Defendant: Modernizing Medicine, Inc.
• Allegation: Receiving and providing illegal kickbacks in exchange for referrals. 
• Total Settlement: $45 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $9 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/modernizing-medicine-agrees-pay-45-million-resolve-allegations-accepting-and-paying-illegal 

$40 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $11 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: September 2, 2022
• Defendant: Bayer Corporation and subsidiaries
• Allegation: Engaging in off-label marketing, unlawful kickbacks, and misreporting of safety risks with respect to its drugs Trasylol, Avelox, and Baycol.
• Total Settlement: $40 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $11 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bayer-pay-40-million-resolve-alleged-use-kickbacks-and-false-statements-relating-three-drugs 

$36 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $7.74 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: May 19, 2022
• Defendant: H&M
• Allegation: Violating a law requiring gift card issuers to turn over to the state unused balances on gift cards.
• Total Settlement: $36 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $7.74 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2022/attorney-general-james-recovers-36-million-hm-unlawfully-keeping-money-unused 

$34.4 MILLION SETTLEMENT / NO WHISTLEBLOWER

• Settlement Date: April 29, 2022
• Defendant: Eargo Inc.
• Allegation: Submitting inaccurate claims for reimbursements to the federal government.
• Total Settlement: $34.4 million 
• Whistleblower Award: N/A 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/hearing-aid-company-eargo-inc-agrees-pay-3437-million-settle-common-law-and-false-claims-act 

$30.2 MILLION SETTLEMENTS / $1.3 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: October 18, 2022
• Defendant: Carter Healthcare LLC and related entities
• Allegations: (1) Paying illegal kickbacks to physicians under the guise of medical directorships in order to induce referrals. (2) Billing Medicare for medically unnecessary therapy and upcoding patient diagnoses for higher reimbursements.
• Total Settlement: $30.2 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $1.3 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/carter-healthcare-affiliates-and-two-senior-managers-pay-7175-million-resolve-false-claims 

$24.75 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $4.3 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: September 1, 2022
• Defendant: Philips RS North America LLC (fka Respironics)
• Allegation: Misleading federal health care programs by paying kickbacks to medical equipment suppliers. 
• Total Settlement: $24.75 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $4.3 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/philips-subsidiary-pay-over-24-million-alleged-false-claims-caused-respironics-respiratory   

$24.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT / $4.655 MILLION WHISTLEBLOWER AWARD

• Settlement Date: April 12, 2022
• Defendant: Physician Partners of America LLC and related entities
• Allegation: Submitting claims for unnecessary medical testing and services, paying unlawful remuneration to its physician employees and making a false statement in connection with a loan obtained through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
• Total Settlement: $24.5 million 
• Whistleblower Award: $4.655 million 
• Want more info about this case? https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/physician-partners-america-pay-245-million-settle-allegations-unnecessary-testing-improper; https://www.phillipsandcohen.com/ppoa-pain-clinics-pay-24-m-to-settle-whistleblower-cases/  

Need a whistleblower attorney? Cotchett Pitre and McCarthy is one of the nation’s most successful and well-respected whistleblower law firms, representing individuals retaliated against by employers for raising concerns, and individuals reporting corporate fraud resulting in the waste of taxpayer money. For general information about CPM’s Whistleblower practice, see this link: https://www.cpmlegal.com/practices-Whistleblower-Qui-Tam-False-Claims-California 

Want to learn more? To learn more about the terminology of whistleblower law, including definitions of terms like whistleblower, “qui tam,” “relator” (very different from “realtor”), and the specifics of the timing and scope of governmental investigations, check out this link: https://www.cpmlegal.com/practices-Whistleblower-Qui-Tam-False-Claims-California#FAQs