Month: July 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

BioReference Health LLC, formerly known as BioReference Laboratories, Inc., (BioReference), and OPKO Health, Inc. (OPKO) have agreed to pay $9.85 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act arising from BioReference’s payment of above-market rents to physician landlords for office space in order to induce referrals from those physicians to BioReference. BioReference, a subsidiary of OPKO, is headquartered in New Jersey and is one of the largest clinical laboratories in the United States.

“The integrity of federal health care programs depends on providers making decisions based on the interests of their patients,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice and its agency partners are committed to enforcing laws prohibiting illegal financial arrangements that may distort health care decision-making and drive up costs to federal health care programs and patients.”

BioReference and OPKO have agreed to pay $9.85 million to resolve allegations that, between January 2013 and March 2021, BioReference made lease payments to physicians and physician groups for the rental of office space for amounts that exceeded fair market value, in violation of the Physician Self‑Referral Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.  The Physician Self‑Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, prohibits a health care provider from billing for certain services referred by physicians with whom the provider has a financial relationship, unless that relationship satisfies one of the law’s statutory or regulatory exceptions. The Anti‑Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying remuneration to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid and certain other federally funded programs. Both the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute are intended to ensure that medical judgments are not compromised by improper financial inducements.

As part of today’s settlement, BioReference admitted that it rented the office space from the specified physician practices for Patient Service Centers (PSCs), where patients could have their blood samples taken. In calculating payments under certain PSC lease arrangements, BioReference inaccurately measured the amount of space BioReference would use exclusively and included a disproportionate share of common spaces.  BioReference analyzed referrals from nearby health care providers — including physician-lessors — when deciding whether to open, maintain or close PSCs. Following OPKO’s acquisition of BioReference, the companies conducted multiple internal audits that showed that the payments to the specified physician-lessors exceeded fair market value. BioReference did not report or return any overpayments to federal health care programs.

“Medical decisions by doctors should be based on what is best for each patient, not a doctor’s personal financial interest,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins for the District of Massachusetts. “When companies violate the federal health care laws that are meant to protect patients, health care costs for hard working people increase. We will continue to find fraud and use the False Claims Act to make companies that break the law pay back the taxpayers they defrauded as well as pay a financial price for their misconduct.”

In connection with the False Claims Act settlements, BioReference has also entered into a “Corporate Integrity Agreement” with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). 

“This settlement is a warning to laboratories that think they can boost their profits by entering into improper financial arrangements with referring physicians,” said Special Agent in Charge Phillip M. Coyne of HHS-OIG. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to crack down on such deals, which work to undermine impartial medical judgement, drive up health care costs, and corrode the public’s trust in the health care system.”

“Laboratories that scheme to enrich their businesses through health care fraud — such as by paying kickbacks — drive up health care costs for everyone,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta of the FBI Boston Division. “This settlement shows how seriously the FBI takes its responsibility to weed them out, and we’d also like to thank the whistleblower in this case for helping us ensure these entities are held accountable.”

“When health care companies pay unlawful remuneration to physicians and submit false claims for improper referrals, they undermine the integrity of TRICARE and place an unnecessary financial burden on the program,” stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.  “The settlement agreement announced today demonstrates our ongoing commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate health care fraud and protect TRICARE, the health care system for military members and their dependents.”

The settlement resolves allegations that were originally brought in a lawsuit filed by Jean Marie Crowley, a former employee at BioReference and OPKO, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.  Ms. Crowley will receive approximately $1.7 million as her share of the recovery in this case.  The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Crowley v. BioReference Laboratories, Inc. and OPKO Health, Inc., Civil Action No. 19-CV-10981-WGY (D. Mass.).  Under the settlement, defendants will also pay the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $141,041 and the State of Connecticut $5,001 to resolve alleged violations of their respective state False Claims Acts. 

The investigation was conducted by the Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts with assistance from HHS-OIG and Office of the General Counsel, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General and the FBI. 

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury today returned a 27-count indictment charging Payton Gendron, 19, of Conklin, New York, with 14 violations of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Shepard-Byrd Act) and 13 firearms offenses in connection with the mass shooting at the Tops grocery store on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, New York. The announcement was made by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York, and Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia of the FBI Buffalo Field Office.   

The indictment alleges that on or about May 14, Gendron opened fire with a Bushmaster XM rifle and shot multiple individuals in and around the Tops grocery store, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Black people, as well as injury to three others. The indictment charges that Gendron violated the Shepard-Byrd Act by willfully causing the death of the victims because of their actual and perceived race and color.

In total, the 27-count indictment charges Gendron with 10 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, three counts of hate crimes involving an attempt to kill three injured individuals, and one hate crimes count alleging that Gendron attempted to kill additional Black people in and around the Tops grocery store. The indictment also charges Gendron with 13 counts of using, carrying, or discharging a firearm in relation to the hate crimes, and seeks forfeiture of items, including the weapon used in the shooting. The indictment further includes special findings alleging, among other things, that Gendron committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation to commit an act of terrorism.  

“Today, a grand jury has indicted Payton Gendron with hate crime and firearms offenses following the horrific attack on the Black community of Buffalo that killed 10 people and injured three others on May 14, 2022,” said Attorney General Garland. “The Justice Department fully recognizes the threat that white supremacist violence poses to the safety of the American people and American democracy. We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes, to support the communities terrorized by them, and to hold accountable those who perpetrate them.”

Upon conviction, the charges in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or the death penalty. The Attorney General will decide whether to seek the death penalty at a later time. Should the Attorney General determine that the circumstances of the offense are such that a sentence of death is justified, the law requires that notice be filed with the court at a reasonable time before trial. Gendron is currently in state custody pending state criminal charges.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the FBI Buffalo and Albany Field Offices; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Buffalo Office; the Buffalo Police Department; the New York State Police; and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi, Brendan T. Cullinane, and Brett A. Harvey of the Western District of New York and Trial Attorney Shan Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 

More information about the Department’s hate crimes efforts, including facts and statistics, case examples, and a searchable collection of the Department’s resources for law enforcement, community groups, researchers, and others are available at www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois today filed a federal civil lawsuit against the CHICAGO CUBS, alleging the team failed to ensure that recent additions and alterations at Wrigley Field were appropriately accessible to individuals with disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The lawsuit alleges that the team’s renovation, rehabilitation, expansion, and reconstruction of Wrigley Field – a multi-year undertaking known as “the 1060 Project” – discriminated against individuals with disabilities.  To facilitate the changes made by the 1060 Project, the Cubs rebuilt a sizable portion of the preexisting Wrigley Field facility, including demolishing and reconstructing the bleachers and tearing down most of the lower grandstand and rebuilding it.  These extensive changes were subject to the ADA’s requirements for design, construction, and alterations, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that throughout the 1060 Project, the Cubs failed to provide wheelchair users with adequate sightlines as compared to standing patrons or incorporate wheelchair seating into new premium clubs and group seating areas.  In the general admission areas, the Cubs designed and constructed the wheelchair seating so that it is largely clustered in the last row of seating sections – in violation of the requirements of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design – and failed to remove architectural barriers to access in unaltered portions of Wrigley Field where it was readily achievable to do so, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, names as defendants the Cubs and other corporate owners and operators of the Wrigley Field facility – CHICAGO BASEBALL HOLDINGS LLC, WRIGLEY FIELD HOLDINGS LLC, and WF MASTER TENANT LLC.  The suit seeks declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief to remedy the alleged ADA violations.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abraham J. Souza and Patrick W. Johnson represent the government.

“The Cubs rebuilt much of Wrigley Field and had ample opportunity – and a significant ADA obligation – to incorporate wheelchair seating and other accessible elements into the updated facility,” said John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to ensuring equal accessibility for individuals with disabilities.”

“For 32 years, the ADA has set clear requirements to ensure that public venues such as sports facilities are accessible,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the law to ensure that fans with disabilities and their families are able to enjoy their ballpark experience.”

Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, such as sports stadiums, from excluding people with disabilities from enjoying goods, services, privileges, facilities, and advantages provided.  To learn more about the obligations of public accommodations under federal disability rights statutes, call the Department of Justice’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301, 800-514-0383 (TTY).

For more information regarding the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat discrimination in public accommodations, please visit the official ADA government website.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Texas military contractor pleaded guilty yesterday to rigging bids on public military contracts in Texas and Michigan.

Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division, John “Mark” Leveritt, 62, pleaded guilty to rigging bids on government contracts from at least May 2013 through April 2018.

According to court documents, Leveritt conspired with others to rig bids on certain government contracts in order to give the false impression of competition and to secure government payments in excess of $17.5 million. The plea agreement detailed seven contracting bids that Leveritt and his co-conspirator rigged, which included work performed for the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana and the U.S. Contracting Command in Warren, Michigan.

Leveritt also admitted to falsely representing himself to be an employee of one business so that he could obtain government contracts that were set aside for qualifying businesses that were required to be owned and operated by certain categories of minority, disadvantaged or disabled persons. In fact, the work for some of the contracts was performed by businesses that had not placed any bids. Leveritt also admitted to providing a government employee with: tickets to a 2011 World Series game, tickets to two college football games, two expense-paid family vacations to Las Vegas, donations to youth sports teams coached by the government employee and approximately 100 meals at restaurants.

“U.S. taxpayers deserve to know that the government contracting process is not subverted through collusion,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Bid rigging undermines the competitive process, wastes taxpayer dollars and deprives businesses that follow the rules of the right to fair competition. Investigating and prosecuting this case and others involving government contracting is a top priority for the Department of Justice and all members of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force.”

“The United States government offers many economic opportunities to the free market for fair contracts and the welcomed employment of many people,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas. “When thieves take advantage of the taxpayer and of those persons trying to compete fairly for contracts, their felonious acts undermine the confidence built into the contracting process.”

“Rigging bids undermines the benefits of competition and takes money out of the pockets of taxpayers,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The public deserves a level playing field when doing business with the government. The FBI, hand in hand with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate those who corrupt the systems established to protect American citizens from this type of fraud.”

“Bid rigging disrupts the government contracting process and leads to waste and unfair bid competition,” said Special Agent-in-Charge L. Scott Moreland of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Field Office. “This guilty plea demonstrates how CID’s highly-trained special agents in our fraud unit, matched with other federal partnerships, aids in combating and uncovering fraud, deception, bribery and other criminal acts.”

Leveritt pleaded guilty to a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors.

The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section is prosecuting the case, which was investigated with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Dallas Fraud Resident Agency and the FBI’s Dallas Field Office. 

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to defense-related spending, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.