Orthofix Inc., a Texas-based manufacturer of medical devices, has agreed to pay the United States $34,234,263 to settle allegations under the civil False Claims Act relating to the company’s sale of bone growth stimulator devices, the Justice Department announced today. The company has also agreed to plead guilty to a felony of obstruction of a federal audit, and to pay a $7,765,737 criminal fine.

"Protecting taxpayer dollars is one of the Attorney General’s core priorities. This includes a commitment to increase our efforts to reduce fraud at the outset," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Delery.

Hospice Care of Kansas LLC and its parent company, Ft. Worth, Texas-based Voyager HospiceCare Inc., have agreed to pay $6.1 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the Medicare program for ineligible hospice services, the Justice Department announced today. Hospice Care of Kansas currently provides hospice services throughout the state of Kansas. Hospice Care of Kansas, which is based in Wichita, Kan., was purchased by Voyager in 2004.

AHS Hospital Corp., Atlantic Health System Inc., and Overlook Hospital, located in New Jersey, have agreed to pay the United States $8,999,999 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today.

Ward Diesel Filter Systems Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $628,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims to federal agencies under a contract to provide diesel exhaust filtering systems for fire engines through the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule program, the Justice Department announced today.

NextCare Inc., an Arizona-based company, has agreed to pay $10 million to settle federal and state allegations that it submitted false claims, the Justice Department announced today. NextCare is an owner of a chain of urgent care facilities with locations in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

Louis Dreyfus Energy Services has paid the United States $4,084,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay money owed on natural gas acquired from the Department of the Interior, the Justice Department announced today. Louis Dreyfus, which is based in Connecticut, is an energy company that is involved in merchandising, transportation, trading and storage of natural gas.

The Department of Justice today filed the second largest fair lending settlement in the department’s history to resolve allegations that Wells Fargo Bank, the largest residential home mortgage originator in the United States, engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), resolving allegations that the company discriminated under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it impermissibly “reverified” the work authority of lawful permanent residents and required some non-citizen workers to provide specific Form I-9 documentation.

James W. Carell, CareAll Management LLC (formerly known as Diversified Health Management Inc.), CareAll Inc., the James W. Carell Family Trust, VIP Home Nursing and Rehabilitation Services LLC, Professional Home Health Care LLC, University Home Health, LLC and Elizabeth Vining (as representative of the Estate of Robert Vining) have agreed to pay $9.375 million to the federal government. This payment is to resolve the lawsuit that the United States filed in 2009 alleging that they violated the False Claims Act, caused Medicare to pay out money through mistake of fact, and were unjustly enriched by falsely concealing the home health agencies’ relationship with their management company, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement agreement with Best Packing Services Employment Agency Inc., which is based in Philadelphia, resolving allegations that the company discriminated under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it impermissibly delayed the start date of two refugees after requiring them to provide specific Form I-9 documentation.

The United States has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against The Gallup Organization, the Justice Department announced today. The lawsuit was filed by Michael Lindley, a former Gallup employee, who alleges that Gallup violated the False Claims Act by making false claims for payment under contracts with the U.S. Mint, the State Department and other federal agencies to provide polling services for various government programs.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint against the private, for-profit chain of schools, ATI Enterprises Inc. based in North Richland, Texas, the Justice Department announced today. ATI Enterprises, Inc., which does business as ATI Technical Training Center, ATI Career Training Center and ATI Career Training, operates career college campuses in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

The government has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI) alleging false Medicare billings, the Justice Department announced today. HOTCI provides hospice services to patients residing in the vicinity of Orlando, Fla.

HCA Inc., one of the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chains, has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Tennessee $16.5 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act and the Stark Statute, the Department of Justice announced today.

"There’s still much more we need to do, and it’s incumbent on all of us in the field – and throughout the justice system – to work together to meet the challenges that we – and all victims – continue to face," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

An Alcatel-Lucent subsidiary, Lucent Technologies World Services Inc. (LTWSI), has agreed to pay the United States $4.2 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that it submitted misleading testing certifications to the Army in connection with the design, construction and modernization of Iraq’s emergency communications system, the Department of Justice announced today.

The government has intervened in a lawsuit against CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. (CH2M Hill) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

ReadyOne Industries Inc. has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false certifications regarding the annual percentages of direct labor hours performed by people with severe disabilities.

Persons living around the CITGO refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, who suffered immediate negative health effects from emissions from two large tanks at the facility that were operated between January 1994 and May 2003 in violation of the federal Clean Air Act, may be crime victims in United States v. CITGO Petroleum Corporation et al.

The United States has filed a complaint against Jacintoport International LLC under the False Claims Act in connection with a warehousing and logistics contract for the storage and redelivery of humanitarian food aid, the Justice Department announced today. Jacintoport is a cargo handling and stevedoring firm headquartered in Houston.

Minor Vargas Calvo, 61, a citizen and resident of Costa Rica, is the majority owner of Provident Capital Indemnity (PCI) Ltd., an insurance and reinsurance company registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica and doing business in Costa Rica.

Connecticut-based Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve allegations relating to the improper promotion of the stroke-prevention drug Aggrenox, the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drugs Atrovent and Combivent, and the hypertension drug Micardis, the Justice Department announced today.

The United States has filed a complaint against a Virginia-based contractor alleging that the company submitted false claims for unqualified security guards under a contract to provide security in Iraq, the Justice Department announced today. The company, Triple Canopy Inc. is headquartered in Reston, Va.

Orthofix International NV, has agreed to pay the United States $30 million to settle allegations that an Orthofix subsidiary, Blackstone Medical Inc., paid illegal kickbacks to physicians in order to induce use of the company’s products, the Justice Department announced today. Orthofix, which manufactures spinal implants and other spinal surgery products, is a publicly traded company headquartered in Curacao.

Freeman Health System, a healthcare provider and hospital system located in Joplin, Mo., has agreed to pay $9,316,139 to resolve allegations that it violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act by knowingly providing incentive pay to physicians in a manner that violated federal law, the Justice Department announced today.

The government has intervened in a lawsuit against Fluor Hanford Inc. and its parent company, Fluor Corporation (collectively Fluor), in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, the Justice Department announced today. Fluor Hanford, Inc. is a subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, a Texas-based corporation that provides a wide variety of services to government and private customers. The False Claims Act lawsuit was originally filed by whistleblower Loydene Rambo, a former employee of Fluor.

The United States has filed a civil complaint against Kellogg, Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) and First Kuwaiti Trading Company for submitting inflated claims for the delivery and installation of trailers to house troops in Iraq.

Morton Plant Mease Health Care Inc. and its affiliated hospitals (Morton Plant) have agreed to pay $10,169,114 to the federal government to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for services rendered to Medicare patients, the Justice Department announced today. Morton Plant owns and operates, or is affiliated with, Morton Plant Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, St. Anthony’s Hospital, Mease Countryside Hospital and Mease Dunedin Hospital. These hospitals are part of the BayCare Health System in Florida’s Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

The Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA) has agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, the Justice Department announced today. TRDA, which was created by the Florida legislature as a special district, owns and operates a system of incubator facilities to nurture small businesses by providing low-rent office space and business development assistance.

Harmony Care Hospice Inc. (Harmony) and Harmony owner and chief executive officer Daniel J. Burton have agreed to pay the United States $1,286,999.32 to settle allegations that the South Carolina-based company submitted false claims to Medicare for patients under care at its hospice facilities, the Justice Department announced today.

Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Health Care System and HealthTexas Provider Network have agreed to pay the United States $907,355 to settle allegations that Baylor submitted false claims to Medicare, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program for various radiation oncology services, including intensity modulated radiation therapy.

A certified public accountant (CPA) and purported outside auditor for Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd. (PCI) was sentenced today in Richmond, Va., to 54 months in prison for his role in an approximately half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 3,500 victims throughout the United States and abroad.

The Justice Department secured $4.9 billion in settlements and judgments in civil cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012.

A federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., returned an indictment charging Paul F. Wrubleski with corruptly impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws and four counts of filing false claims for tax refunds, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Kentucky-based Lusk Mechanical Contractors and Commonwealth Technologies, and their owners, Harry Lusk and Wendell Goodman, have agreed to pay $6.25 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false statements to the Small Business Administration and false claims to the Army, the Justice Department announced today.

Healthpoint Ltd. and DFB Pharmaceuticals will pay up to $48 million to resolve allegations that Healthpoint caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid for an unapproved drug, Xenaderm, which was ineligible for reimbursement by those programs.

Japan-based Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. Ltd. and various affiliated entities (collectively, Toyo Ink) have agreed to pay $45 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to pay antidumping and countervailing duties, the Justice Department announced today.

April J. Rampton, 41, formerly of Heber City, Utah, was convicted yesterday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City of nine counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Rampton, who was indicted on Sept. 14, 2011, was released following the verdict. She is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson on Feb. 27, 2013. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on six similar counts.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. accepted a guilty plea by American biotechnology giant Amgen Inc. (Amgen) for illegally introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce. The plea is part of a global settlement with the United States in which Amgen agreed to pay $762 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from its sale and promotion of certain drugs. The settlement represents the single largest criminal and civil False Claims Act settlement involving a biotechnology company in U.S. history.

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, subsidiaries of international drug manufacturer Sanofi (collectively, Sanofi US), have agreed to pay $109 million to resolve allegations that Sanofi US violated the False Claims Act by giving physicians free units of Hyalgan, a knee injection, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, to induce them to purchase and prescribe the product. The settlement also resolves allegations that Sanofi US submitted false average sales price (ASP) reports for Hyalgan that failed to account for free units distributed contingent on Hyalgan purchases. The government alleges that the false ASP reports, which were used to set reimbursement rates, caused government programs to pay inflated amounts for Hyalgan and a competing product.

W.W. Grainger Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $70 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims under contracts with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Postal Services (USPS), the Department of Justice announced today. Grainger is a national hardware distributor headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties, for its conduct in relation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today

EMH Regional Medical Center has agreed to pay the United States $3,863,857 and North Ohio Heart Center Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $541,870 to settle allegations that they submitted false claims to Medicare.

Granite Construction Company, a California-based construction company specializing in roads, tunnels, bridges, airports and other infrastructure-related projects, reached a settlement with the United States following an investigation of alleged false claims in connection with federal construction projects across the country.

Steven J. Wasserman, M.D., a dermatologist practicing in Venice, Fla., has agreed to pay $26.1 million to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by accepting illegal kickbacks from a pathology laboratory and by billing the Medicare program for medically unnecessary services.

Fairfax, Va.-based skilled nursing facility Fairfax Nursing Center (FNC) and its owners have agreed to pay $700,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission to Medicare of false claims for non-reimbursable rehabilitation therapy services.

The Department of Justice announced today that the government has joined a civil lawsuit alleging that Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel and Tailwind Sports LLC and Tailwind Sports Corporation submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the U.S. Postal Service in connection with its sponsorship of a professional bicycle racing team by regularly employing banned substances and methods to enhance their performance, in violation of the USPS sponsorship agreements.

Williston Rescue Squad Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by making false claims for payment to Medicare for ambulance transports.

The Justice Department announced today that American Systems Corporation, Anixter International Inc., and Corning Cable Systems LLC have agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act in bidding on a contract with the CIA.