ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
California Attorney General Announces Large Settlement
Allegations Of Medi-Cal Fraud
Charges For Unnecessary Medical Devices
Individuals who blow the whistle on fraud against the State of California are eligible for a reward if the State recovers money from the company committing the fraud. Cal. Gov’t Code § 12652(g). The process begins with a State whistleblower (or “qui tam”) case brought under the California False Claims Act (“CFCA”). See Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 12650 et seq. The CFCA protects any whistleblower from employer retaliation. Cal. Gov’t Code § 12653. Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents whistleblowers in CFCA cases against government contractors, product manufacturers, service providers, pharmaceutical companies, and other healthcare groups who defraud the State of California. Our litigators can also represent you in any action against an employer who retaliates against you for blowing the whistle. If you have credible information for a California false claims case, call us today at (415)441-8669 (or toll free at 1-888-50EVANS) and we can help.
Recent Announcement
California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently announced a $3.31 million settlement[1] against a home respiratory services company for defrauding the state and federal government by knowingly billing Medicare and Medi-Cal for servicing ventilators that were no longer medically necessary. The proposed settlement resolves allegations that the company submitted fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal in violation of the state and federal False Claims Acts. Under the proposed settlement, defendant will pay a total of $3.31 million to multiple government plaintiffs, with California receiving approximately $327,000. In the case, a whistleblower alleged that the company continued to service non-invasive ventilators that were no longer being used by patients, and were not medically necessary, and therefore no longer eligible for Medi-Cal reimbursement. Despite this knowledge, the company billed Medicare and Medi-Cal for servicing the ventilators according to the government.
California False Claims Act Whistleblower Protections
Under the California False Claims Act, employees may file qui tam suits against their employers. Current and former employees are very often the individuals who have information of fraud that is otherwise concealed from the outside world. The CFCA protects employees from any retaliation by their employers from bringing a case. Cal. Gov’t Code § 12653. Despite this protection, employers continue to retaliate against whistle-blowing employees. Employees who experience workplace retaliation after opposing violations of the California False Claims Act may successfully sue their employers. The statute of limitations for a CFCA retaliation lawsuit is three (3) years after you are terminated or retaliated against. Cal. Gov’t Code § 12653(c).
Contact Us
If you have information about fraud against the State of California, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower and false claims attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, (or toll free at 1-888-50EVANS) or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Ingrid also represents whistleblowers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding tax avoidance schemes and before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in securities and investment fraud cases and in cases brought under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) for bank fraud.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
