Our client becomes a successful two-time whistleblower It is difficult and rare to be a successful False Claims Act relator. First, you have to be educated enough to recognize the fraud that is occurring around you. You must be wise and confident enough to not be gaslit by your bosses that what they are doing is appropriate. Second, you must have the integrity and fearlessness to be a whistleblower. Third, you have to bring a case significant enough to convince the government to intervene. This only happens in about 20%-25% of cases. When it doesn’t, your attorneys must litigate and win a decl ..read more

“Hey MFCU! What do you think you’re doing?” Yes, ‘MFCU” sounds like it might be some sort of veiled insult, but in reality, it is quite the opposite. It’s a force for good in the nefarious world of healthcare fraud, patient abuse, and neglect. Learn more about these essential investigation units and get in touch with one of our Atlanta whistleblower attorneys for more guidance. What is an MFCU? So what is an MFCU exactly? Well, let’s have the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the designated Federal agency that oversees and annually approves Federal funding for MFCUs, describe it for you ..read more

Bracker & Marcus LLP is pleased to announce that the United States and the State of Texas have settled a lawsuit brought by their client, Dr. Carrie L. Morris, against a large ophthalmology group, Arlington Ophthalmology Association, P.L.L.C., doing business as Kleiman Evangelista Eye Centers, with offices in Arlington, Dallas, Plano, Southlake, Mount Pleasant, and Gun Barrel City, Texas. The United States press release may be found here. Our client alleged that optometrists who referred their patients to Arlington for cataract surgeries were offered 20% of the patient’s global surgery fee ..read more

Pharmacist Claims AlixaRx Took Govt. Money for Dispensed Drugs That Weren’t Prescribed In May, the Department of Justice announced that AlixaRx LLC would pay $2.75 million to resolve allegations brought by our whistleblower client under the False Claims Act. AlixaRx is a national provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities. Our client, a former pharmacist employed by the company, worked at the Atlanta hub and was familiar with the dispensing practices that were at the heart of the case. Healthcare Fraud Made Easier With Automated Dispensing Units, Relator Says AlixaRX’s “innovat ..read more

Bracker & Marcus LLC is pleased to announce that Advanced Bionics LLC, a California-based manufacturer of cochlear implants, agreed to pay the government nearly $13 million to resolve a complaint brought by our client, David Nyberg. Mr. Nyberg was Advanced Bionics’ principal electrical engineer for Radio Frequency (RF) research and development from December 2010 to August 2017. During that time, he became aware of what he later realized was a scheme to mislead federal healthcare programs about the RF emissions generated by some of Advanced Bionics’ cochlear implants. Read more about this c ..read more

Defendants allegedly defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by submitting false claims for name brand viscosupplements Just in time for the new year, Bracker & Marcus is pleased to announce a settlement in its long-running case against two orthopedic practices and its owner.  Defendants Mitias Orthopaedics, a subsidiary, and its owner will repay over $1.9 million to the government. This settles allegations that they injected Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with drugs purchased from compound pharmacies that were billed as FDA-approved, name-brand products. Learn more about this historic s ..read more

Imagine this: you are homeless and living in a tent on a stretch of street in Los Angeles called Skid Row. You are desperate for food, for warmth, for any sign of human compassion, but none of those is forthcoming. One day, a kindly-looking gentleman arrives and asks you whether you would like to come with him to get some food. You go with him, get “admitted” to some sort of medical facility, get something to eat, and then get deposited back on Skid Row right where this all started. You see this happen to others around you but think nothing of it because at least folks are getting fed. Of cour ..read more

Bracker & Marcus Client Latashia Hawkins Awarded 23% Relator’s Share We are proud to announce that the United States and the State of Georgia have intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit filed on behalf of our client, Latashia Hawkins.  Her allegations have been settled for $750,000. Learn more about the settlement and call one of our healthcare fraud attorneys for more information. Whistleblower Alleges Medicare, Medicaid Fraud Ms. Hawkins reported that her employer and its executive director had defrauded the Medicare and Medicaid programs by falsifying the identity and qualificati ..read more

Georgia requires licensed nurses to perform infusions; our whistleblower nurse discovered her co-workers were unqualified medical assistants. Bracker & Marcus LLC is pleased to announce that the federal government has intervened in and settled its False Claims Act case against Infectious Disease Consultants, P.C. (IDC) for $325,000. IDC is an Atlanta area provider of infectious disease management and care. Our client alleged that IDC allowed medical assistants to perform IV infusion therapy (IVIT) and Immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IVIG) on its patients, for which it billed Medicare ..read more

As vaccinations roll out and we all begin our return to normalcy—or at least, to the “new normal,” so too does our firm. Various False Claims Act settlements that have long been in the offing finally have started to come to fruition. Today, we are pleased to announce two settlements involving False Claims Act whistleblowers represented by Bracker & Marcus LLC. St. Jude Medical Pacemaker Settlement First, on July 8, 2021, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with St. Jude Medical, Inc. St. Jude agreed to pay $27 million to settle allegations that, between November 2014 and Octob ..read more