Columbia U. To Pay US Govt. $9.5M For Improper Rate Billing

Columbia University has agreed to pay $9.5 million to the U.S. government to resolve a False Claims Act suit alleging that it sought and received excessive cost repayments in connection with federal research grants, the Southern District of New York’s district attorney said on Thursday.

The announcement from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office came a day after a New York federal judge approved the settlement between the university and the U.S. government, struck three years after a whistleblower filed a qui tam complaint in 2013 to which the government intervened. read more »

Office Depot Restating Old Arguments In FCA Row, AIG Says

AIG Specialty Insurance Co. asked a California federal judge on Wednesday to strike a reply brief by Office Depot in the retailer’s lawsuit seeking coverage for a whistleblower suit, saying Office Depot literally copied and pasted portions of the brief from its original motion.

AIG told U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson that Office Depot’s reply brief in support of its motion seeking reconsideration on a dismissed duty-to-defend claim does not respond to AIG’s opposition, but merely restates its original argument. AIG says Office Depot’s actions violate local court rules and asked Judge Wilson to strike or disregard the brief because it prejudiced the insurer.

Office Depot asked Judge Wilson on June 21 to reconsider dismissing a duty to defend claim in its lawsuit against AIG seeking coverage for a suit accusing the retailer of overbilling governments for office and school supplies. The underlying lawsuit resulted in a $77.5 million deal in 2014, filings said. read more »

DOJ Settles Another FCA Case with A Hospice Over Patient Ineligibility

Following on the heels of a number of recent False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases alleging that patients were not eligible to receive hospice services (Good Shepherd Hospice Inc., Guardian Hospice of Georgia LLC,Hospice of Arizona, L.C. and Altus Healthcare & Hospice Inc., to name a few), the U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado just completed an $18 million dollar settlement with UnitedHealth Group Inc. affiliate, OptumHealth LLC.

The settlement follows the DOJ’s 2014 intervention in two whistleblower-initiated FCA suits. The whistleblowers, and eventually the DOJ, alleged that the hospice defrauded Medicare by billing services for hospice patients who were not terminally ill. read more »