Author Archives: Staff

Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito, who may face a possible firing in the days to come, sent a letter to city manager Johnny Martinez demanding whistleblower protection against retaliation. According to Exposito, the Mayor Regalado has been unfairly targeting him since December 2010, when Exposito sent a letter to federal authorities claiming Regalado interfered with a police raid on video gaming machines. A decade ago, Exposito famously prevailed in a whistleblower suit against the city when he linked his demotion to a complaint he made that the police department was keeping files on elected officials.

Read more at: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Exposito-Files-For-Whisltblower-Protection-Report-129182903.html

According to a news release from the FBI, eighteen medical professionals have been charged for committing Medicare fraud in Detroit. Their schemes involved a total of more than $28 million in fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary services and/or services that were never even provided by the individuals.

Read more at: http://www.beckersasc.com/stark-act-and-fraud-abuse-issues/18-medical-professionals-charged-with-medicare-fraud-schemes-in-detroit.html

The Health Authority Law Enforcement Task Force, which is made up of local, state and federal agencies, raided and shut down four San Fernando Valley clinics on Thursday, September 1, 2011. The clinics, upon investigation, were found to be engaging in Medicare fraud and serving as “prescription mills” from which fake prescriptions for the powerful pain killer OxyContin were issued. The raid resulted in three arrests as well as the seizure of computers, financial documents and patient records.

Read more at: http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_18813221

D.C. federal judge Richard Roberts recently ruled that the federal government could continue with its suit against First Choice Armor & Equipment, the bulletproof vest manufacturer that allegedly sold defective vests to state and local law enforcement agencies, under the False Claims Act. Judge Roberts held that, “[t]he government’s claim that First Choice knew the vests could not stand up to an industry standard that they ‘remain fit for use as body armor’ for five years is a valid claim under the False Claims Act.”

Read more at: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/09/02/39525.htm

As part of its efforts to eliminate healthcare fraud, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require approximately 750,000 physicians in the Medicare program to revalidate their individual enrollment records. Moreover, CMS announced on August 10th that eventually, it will send revalidation requests to more than 1.4 million health professionals between now and March 23, 2013. This revalidation effort has received criticism, with doctors describing Medicare enrollment as tedious and confusing. American Medical Association (AMA) President Peter W. Carmel, MD states, “We have very significant concerns with this revalidation effort in light of the problems physicians have had with enrollment and revalidation efforts in the past…the AMA is making this a priority and urging CMS to reconsider this action.”

Read more at: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/08/29/gvl10829.htm