The 2017 Year in Review of the Department of Justice reveals a Data Analytics Team (the “Team”) for tracking healthcare fraud. The Healthcare Fraud Unit launched the Team in order to provide data mining expertise that efficiently detects healthcare fraud.… Continue Reading
In a settlement this week, the government rewards prompt action of a biopharma company by declining a penalty. Although an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the approach corresponds to a recent announcement by the Department of Justice. Companies that self-report, cooperate, and remediate will receive lenient treatment. This settlement makes clear just how valuable those efforts can … Continue Reading
A federal judge rejects healthcare company’s “C” plea as not good enough. Lessons from this decision apply to any healthcare provider trying to negotiate a specific sentence with the federal government. A summary of the judge’s criticism follows a short background about a C plea. Types of Guilty Pleas Federal Criminal Rule 11(c)(1) governs plea agreement procedure. It … Continue Reading
Yesterday, Amgen received approval of a global settlement from the federal judge in New York presiding over the criminal case filed against Amgen by the Department of Justice regarding the off-label promotion of the anemia drug Aranesp. The settlement resolves criminal charges and civil kickback claims filed by the federal government, claims of Medicaid fraud filed by 49 states … Continue Reading
Shortly before Halloween of last year, a Squire Sanders healthcare client received an omen that all was not well – a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) served by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Broad, aggressive, and without identifying any pending legal complaint (CIDs usually don’t), the CID made a frighteningly lengthy list of demands … Continue Reading