Author Archives: Staff

One of the nation’s largest employers of disabled people, PRIDE Industries, will pay $400,000 to the federal government to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims relating to a maintenance contract at the Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas.  The contract, which is part of the AbilityOne program, required that PRIDE ensure that 75% of all direct labor hours are performed by severely disabled employees.  The Justice Department claims that PRIDE instead employed a large number of temporary, non-disabled workers as part of its maintenance staff, but did not count their hours in its overall ratio.  A lawsuit by two whistleblowers under the False Claims Act was the catalyst of the government’s investigation.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/12/3763017/pride-industries-agrees-to-pay.html

Last week, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that current systems for catching Medicare and Medicaid fraud are inadequate.  Additionally, only 41, of the 639 analysts which were supposed to have been trained to use the system, have been trained.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is trying to improve protection with a separate technology program.  Something has to be done to curtail the $60 billion to $90 billion in fraudulent claims paid out each year.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/12/report-systems-catch-medicaid-fraud-inadequate/

Recently, Armor Group North America Inc. (AGNA) offered to pay the United States $7.5 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act.  A whistleblower lawsuit alleged that the security company, in 2007 and 2008, submitted false claims for its work guarding the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan while company employees frequented brothels.  Specifically, AGNA guards violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by visiting the brothels.  The whistleblower in the suit, former director of operations with AGNA, will get $1.35 million of the proceeds.

Read more: http://www.mainjustice.com/2011/07/07/security-company-paying-7-5-million-to-resolve-false-claims-suit/

As Congress is currently arguing over the debt ceiling and the federal budget, one issue of focus will be the $500 billion spent each year on Medicare.  Medicare is second to only Social Security in its share of the federal budget.  Former Senator John Breaux wisely argues that Congress needs to focus on reducing the level of fraud in the system as opposed to reducing the benefits for the seniors who have paid into the system their entire lives.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/169945-declare-war-on-medicare-fraud-not-seniors

Bank of America Corporation announced last week, in a landmark settlement, that it has reached an agreement to resolve almost all of the Countrywide-issued first-lien Residential Mortgage-Backed Securitization (RMBS) repurchase exposure.  The settlement with The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) covers 530 RMBS trusts with an original principal balance of $424 billion.  The settlement is just the beginning when considering how many banks were involved with RMBS transactions.

Read more:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-america-announces-agreement-on-legacy-countrywide-mortgage-repurchase-and-servicing-claims-2011-06-29?reflink=MW_news_stmp/