CFTC Charges Fan Wang with Making False Reports in Connection with Commodity Futures Transactions

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil injunctive enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Fan Wang a.k.a. Alex Wang (Wang), a Chinese national who resides in Short Hills, New Jersey. The CFTC’s Complaint charges Wang with willfully making false reports in connection with certain commodity futures contracts he purchased for his employer’s proprietary trading account. read more »

Lockheed Martin Hit With Whistleblower Suit In NJ

Lockheed Martin Corp. has been slapped with a whistleblower lawsuit in New Jersey state court by a former employee who claims she was treated unfairly and ultimately fired after reporting her supervisor’s alleged unethical practices and taking disability leave due to the ensuing stress.

Bonnie Gurgevich worked for the Maryland-based global aerospace, defense and security company for 16 years before her December firing, which she contends was driven either by age or disability bias or as retribution for raising concerns about her supervisor, Tasha Bonds, according to the Sept. 1 complaint filed in Burlington County Superior Court.

The complaint says Lockheed Martin, which has a facility in Moorestown, New Jersey, ran afoul of the age and disability provisions of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and violated the state’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Gurgevich, whose age is not mentioned in the complaint, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, back pay, front pay and attorneys’ fees and costs. read more »

CFTC Proposes New Amendments to its Whistleblower Rules

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has proposed numerous amendments to the Whistleblower Rules found in Part 165 of the CFTC’s Regulations. The Commission seeks to enhance the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and clarify staff authority to administer the whistleblower program through the proposed amendments. Significantly, the CFTC has proposed regulations that would give it authority to take enforcement action for whistleblower retaliation and prohibit confidentiality and pre-dispute arbitration clauses in employment contracts that deter employees from reporting violations to the CFTC. read more »

Prime claims DOJ fraud suit wrongly relies on statistical sampling

Prime Healthcare Services has asked a federal court to exclude certain evidence used by the Department of Justice in a lawsuit alleging the Ontario, Calif.-based hospital chain violated the False Claims Act.

The DOJ intervened in a whistle-blower lawsuit against Prime in May. The lawsuit alleges Prime defrauded the federal government of millions of dollars by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary inpatient short-stay admissions, which should have been classified as outpatient or observation cases. read more »

The United States Files False Claims Act Complaint Against Six Vanguard Nursing Facilities and Related Entities, as Well as Vanguard’s Director of Operations

The United States has filed a False Claims Act case against Vanguard Healthcare LLC, Vanguard Healthcare Services LLC, Boulevard Terrace LLC, Vanguard of Crestview LLC, Glen Oaks LLC, Imperial Gardens Healthcare and Rehabilitation LLC, Vanguard of Memphis LLC, Vanguard of Manchester LLC and Vanguard’s Director of Operations, Mark Miller, the Department of Justice announced today. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were responsible for the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for skilled nursing home services that were either non-existent or grossly substandard.  The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants submitted required nursing facility Pre-Admission forms with forged physician and nurse signatures. Vanguard Healthcare LLC is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and has 14 long-term care nursing home providers operating around the United States. read more »

Diabetic Medical Equipment Companies to Pay More Than $12 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

U.S. Healthcare Supply LLC and Oxford Diabetic Supply Inc. and the two owners and presidents of those companies have agreed to pay the United States more than $12.2 million to resolve allegations that they violated the federal False Claims Act by using a fictitious entity to make unsolicited telephone calls to Medicare beneficiaries in order to sell them durable medical equipment, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.  U.S. Healthcare Supply LLC, based in Milford, New Jersey, has agreed to pay more than $5 million, and Jon P. Letko, its owner and president, has agreed to pay more than $1 million.  His brother, Edward J. Letko, the owner and president of Oxford Diabetic Supply Inc., a medical equipment supplier that allegedly also participated in the scheme, has agreed to pay $6 million plus interest. read more »