Apple E Book Settlement Finalized

 

Final approval of a $450 settlement has been granted ending an antitrust class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. The lawsuit alleged that Apple conspired publishers to raise e-book prices. While all the publishers settled their claims, only Apple went to trial.

The lawsuit was brought by the US Department of Justice and 33 states and claimed that in 2010 Apple signed distribution deals with five top publishers, namely Simon & Schuster Inc., Penguin Group USA, Macmillan Publishers USA, Hachette Book Group Inc. and HarperCollins Publishers LLC, that raised the prices for digital books from $9.99 to as much as $14.99. This resulted in consumers paying hundreds of millions of dollars. In July 2013, Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple had “played a central role in facilitating and executing” the conspiracy. The company has since appealed that decision to the Second Circuit.

Under the terms of the settlement, consumers will receive $400 million. According to court documents, a claims administrator and e-book retailers have sent emails or postcards to almost 23 million addresses of people eligible to receive compensation.

The settlement contains a provision allowing Apple to pay $50 million to consumers and $10 million each to the states and class counsel if Judge Cote’s 2013 decision finding Apple liable is vacated and remanded on appeal or reversed and remanded with instructions for reconsideration or a new trial.

Effoxor Recalled For a 2nd Time This Year

 

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has recalled 68,000 bottles of the antidepressant Effexor (venlafaxine), in the second recall of the drug this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

In both instances, the recalled drug was manufactured at the Indian generic drug maker’s plant in Halol in the state of Gujarat. The drugs were recalled after they failed to dissolve properly in quality tests. The earlier recall, in June, was for 252,000 bottles of Effexor.

Sun Pharma is attempting a $3.2 billion purchase of Ranbaxy Laboratories, an Indian drug manufacturer that has been under scrutiny for manufacturing problems. Ranbaxy has been under export restrictions on its facilities in India, leaving it with only one plant able to manufacture drugs that can be shipped to the U.S. market. The plant in Halol has come under scrutiny from the FDA after a series of recalls of drugs manufactured there, including the diabetes drugs metformin. The FDA inspected Sun Pharma’s plant in September and the agency criticized the company for having “no formalized corrective action plan” to prevent future recalls. If the FDA is not satisfied with Sun Pharma’s plans to resolve the problems found at the plant, it can issue a warning letter, and impose an export ban on the factory.

U.S. regulators are increasing scrutiny of generic drugs made in India, after a series of recalls of prescription and over-the-counter medicines made by Indian drug companies. The FDA is concerned that the drugs fail to meet U.S. standards. Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner, made a nine-day visit to India in February to meet with pharmaceutical makers to discuss quality and safety issues. Indian companies supply about one quarter of the medicines used in the U.S. In 2013, the FDA banned imports from four plants belonging to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. and Wockhardt Ltd.

Chaotic Labz Bodybuilding Medications Dangerous and Recalled!

A popular bodybuilding supplement, which is available over-the-counter across the country, was recently recalled due to issues with its chemical makeup. According to a recent report, the Mayhem bodybuilding supplement may contain prescription level drugs which are not included on the product label. The use of these drugs could cause harm to consumers.

Chaotic Labz is the manufacturer of Mayhem dietary supplements. Products by this manufacturer can be found both in-store nationwide and online at various retailers. The product that has been recalled is packaged in a clear container with yellow capsules and have an expiration date of June 2016.

According to the FDA, these supplements may contain dexamethasone and cyproheptadine. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid which can reduce the body's ability to fight off infections, increase blood sugar levels and can suppress adrenal gland function, among many other known side effects. Cyproheptadine is an antihistamine which can cause drowsiness. These products, if unknowingly digested by consumers, could cause serious side effects if combined with other medications.

At this time, no reports of any adverse medical events have been recorded in relation to using this supplement. Connecticut residents who feel they or a loved one have suffered any injury or harm as a result of using this particular drug may be entitled to legal recourse. Product liability claims can be filed against Chaotic Labz and others in the chain of commerce deemed responsible for this product.

Are Generic Medications Always Cheaper--Find Out The New Answer!

 as “prices for some generic medicines have skyrocketed in the last 18 months,” governments are investigating. “A federal grand jury in Philadelphia and the Connecticut Attorney General are looking into possible antitrust violations by generic drugmakers,” and the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Care and Aging is holding a hearing on Thursday “in hopes of getting some answers.” Adam J. Fein, who “follows the pharmaceutical supply chain as president of Pembroke Consulting,” wrote in an analysis released in August “that one out of 11 generic drugs more than doubled in cost in the prior 12 months, with some increases exceeding 1,000 percent.”

Consumers are encountering substantial increases for some drugs. One notable example is a heart drug known as digoxin, which used to sell for pennies a pill, but a month’s supply can now fetch up to $1,200—although the average cost is closer to $50, according to GoodRx.com, a website that tracks prices.

Some insurers are responding by changing reimbursement coverage so that consumers must pay a larger share of the cost, says Adam Fein of Pembroke Consulting, who follows pharmacy distribution. Meanwhile, he calculates that in this year’s third quarter, pharmacies paid more for 37% of all generics than they did in the previous quarter, and 3% of 2,535 generics more than doubled in cost.

This last point underscores that not every generic has skyrocketed in price and the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association argues that assuming there are across-the-board price increases is a mischaracterization. What’s more, consumers whose insurance coverage hasn't changed do not feel the higher prices paid by pharmacies.

The FDA has a policy to expedite reviews to combat shortage, but there is a backlog of applications for generic approvals. As of early last month, agency data shows there were 3,552 applications waiting to be processed, compared with 1,359 in October 2012, when legislation passed to create fees for speeding reviews.

So can the logjam be broken? Mr. Fein believes selective generic inflation will continue for another 12 to 18 months, but new supplies should emerge and reduce prices. And while some insurers may want consumers to pay more, insurers are also “a little nervous, because they’ve spent so many years telling consumers to switch to generics and don’t want to go back on that story.”

Avis Takes Away Your Right To Due Process

Avis Budget Rental Car Group LLC is facing an unfair business practices class action lawsuit alleging the car rental agency charged drivers for traffic tickets they incurred while renting Avis vehicles, without providing the consumer an opportunity to protest them.

Filed in federal court in New Jersey, the lawsuit claims that Avis paid traffic tickets that it received in the mail without giving any notice of the charges to the people who rented the vehicles that were ticketed. By so doing, Avis denied the renters, its customers, of their right to due process. 

 ATS Processing Services LLC, a ticket-paying service Avis uses that allegedly charges drivers steep handling fees for the payment of these possibly warrantless tickets is also a named defendant in the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, “Avis Budget chooses to pay such fines on behalf of class members ... very often, if not always, without notice to the class member, and without making any effort to contest the alleged fine on behalf of the class member. Although Avis Budget has no knowledge as to whether the class member actually committed the purported infraction.

The lawsuit goes on to allege that while the Avis rental agreement signed by plaintiffs clearly states that renters will be responsible for any fines incurred, as well as processing fees, it does not include a waiver of renters’ rights to contest an infraction, and does not specify the cost of processing fees.

According to the lawsuit, lead plaintiff Dawn Valli was automatically charged $180 for an alleged speeding violation after she rented a car from Avis Budget, $150 of which covered the fine, and the remaining $30 of which represents an “unreasonable and excessive” handling fee.

The lawsuit targets complaints that are recorded by automated devices, such as speeding and failure to pay toll tickets. In these cases, the driver is not immediately aware that he or she has been ticketed and is powerless to act until being notified. However, Avis applies a blanket policy to these types of tickets, of immediate payment, which is equal to an admission of guilt the lawsuit alleges.

Avis sent Valli a demand for payment a full 45 days before the deadline to contest her ticket, at which point Avis had already paid on her behalf, according to the complaint.

The class is suing under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, under which it is seeking treble damages. The class also asserts claims for unjust enrichment against both defendants and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against Avis.

Have You Taken Bystolic? High Blood Pressure Medication Causing Problems For Many!

 

 

In a previous post, we discussed several medications that were recalled on a national level due to dissolution issues. Drugs that are improperly designed, are likely to be ineffective and can have temporary to severe adverse health consequences to consumers. Forest Laboratories, the manufacturer of Bystolic -- one of the many drugs included in our previous post -- recently issued another recall for the same drug. This is the second recall of this medication in the last three months and, as the company ships nationwide, consumers in Connecticut may be affected.

Forest Laboratories which is now a unit of Actavis, issued an expanded recall of Bystolic. This is, again, due to dissolution issues with the products in question. The first recall issued a few months ago affected approximately 90,000 sample bottles, and this recall is much the same. More than 94,000 cartons of 20-mg tablet sample bottles are included in this recent recall.

Bystolic is a fairly popular blood pressure medication. Last year alone, consumers spent over $455 million dollars buying this product. This amount is an increase of almost 24 percent compared to the amount sold in 2012.

Patients who require medication to control blood pressure may experience serious health consequences should their medication fail. Pharmaceutical liability claims seek to hold drug manufacturers accountable for the safety and effectiveness of their products and grant victims of improperly designed medications compensation for any damages sustained.

LeanSpa Admits to False Marketing to Consumers

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Connecticut have reached a settlement with LeanSpa for allegedly engaging in consumer fraud by using fake news websites to promote acai berry and "colon cleanse" weight-loss products, making deceptive weight-loss claims, and telling consumers they could receive free trial products by paying a nominal fee for shipping and handling.

In addition to allegations of creating fake new websites, the deceptive marketing class action also claimed that the marketers of the weight loss supplement LeanSpa falsely informed consumers that they could receive a free trial of the weight loss products if they paid a small shipping and handling fee.

However, the lawsuit contends that consumers in fact paid nearly $80 for the “free” trial and were signed up for monthly subscriptions that were difficult to cancel. Consumers reportedly paid more than $25 million to the defendants.

The FTC and the state of Connecticut shut down the alleged LeanSpa scam operation and charged the defendants with violating portions of the FTC Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, in 2011. Then, in January, 2014 an agreement was reached between the parties in which the marketers of LeanSpa supplements have agreed to pay up to $7 million in consumer refunds.

Eligible consumers include people who bought LeanSpa weight loss or other LeanSpa health supplements such as LeanSpa; LeanSpa with Acai; LeanSpa with HCA; LeanSpa Cleanse; NutraSlim; NutraSlim with HCA; QuickDetox; and SlimFuel.

Hertz Rental Commits Fraud!



 A settlement has been reached in a consumer fraud class action lawsuit pending against Hertz Corp, and two Nevada airports brought by plaintiffs who alleged they were unlawfully charged undisclosed fees.

The $53 million settlement received final approval on October 30th, and contains $43.2 million restitution for Hertz customers who were billed for “airport concession recovery fees” at airports in Reno or Las Vegas between October 2003 and September 2009.

Brought by plaintiffs Janet Sobel and Daniel Dugan, the suit alleged that Hertz violated a Nevada Revised Statute that requires car rental firms to include all charges in the rates they advertise in order to make rate comparisons reliable for those looking for the best deal. Specifically, Hertz allegedly tacked on a recovery fee separately from the rate it quoted its customers. The complaint stated that Hertz used that extra fee to pass along to consumers an assessment imposed on the company by the airports, which charge Hertz and other rental car firms a percentage of their gross revenues for the right to operate on site.

Careall Commits Fraud With Medicare and Medicaid Over Charges

 

 

Careall Companies Agree to Pay $25 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

CareAll Management LLC and its affiliated entities (collectively have agreed to pay $25 million, plus interest, to the United States and the state of Tennessee to resolve allegations that CareAll violated the False Claims Act by submitting false and upcoded home healthcare billings to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  CareAll is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and is one of Tennessee’s largest home health providers. 

“Home health agencies may only bill Medicare and Medicaid for care that is necessary and covered by the programs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “This settlement is another example of the department’s commitment to ensuring that home health care dollars – which are so vital to ensure the care of homebound patients – are spent for their intended purposes.”

This settlement resolves allegations that between 2006 and 2013, CareAll overstated the severity of patients’ conditions to increase billings and billed for services that were not medically necessary and rendered to patients who were not homebound.      

This is CareAll’s second settlement of alleged False Claims Act violations within the last two years.  In 2012, CareAll paid nearly $9.38 million for allegedly submitting false cost reports to Medicare.  As part of the settlement announced today, the companies agreed to be bound by the terms of an enhanced and extended corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General in an effort to avoid future fraud and compliance failures.

“Fraudulent home-based services are surging across the country,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of HHS-OIG in Atlanta.  “We will continue to protect both Medicare and taxpayers, and ensure that funds are not siphoned off by companies more concerned with the bottom line than patient care.”

Under the False Claims Act, private citizens, known as relators, can bring suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.  The relator in this case, Toney Gonzales, will receive more than $3.9 million as his share of the recovery.

 

Verizon Fraud Uncovered!! Will You Be Part Of The Settlement?

Verizon Communications Inc. has agreed to pay $64.2 million to settle a class action claiming it improperly billed Family SharePlan participants for overtime minutes and in-network and in-family calls. U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares, a New Jersey federal judge, is being asked to approve the settlement. Payments pursuant to the settlement include a $36.7 million cash payment from Verizon. Also that will be $27.5 million in “calling units” that will be accessible via personal identification number. The proposed settlement — which was reached after multiple mediation sessions facilitated by retired U.S. District Judge Layn Phillips — calls for the certification of over 2 million settlement class members. Class members can obtain PINs allowing them to make free phone calls in an amount to be determined by a court-appointed claims administrator.

Pursuant to the notice plan, potential settlement class members will be notified by way of Facebook, Internet banner ads and an ad in People Magazine. The litigation goes all the way back to 2006 and involves Verizon’s alleged undisclosed billing practice of charging Family SharePlan customers for overtime minutes resulting from calls made on the primary line at a higher rate applicable to calls made on the secondary line. It also involves the company’s allegedly improper practice of charging customers for in-network or in-family calls it had promised would be free.

It was alleged in the suit that Verizon initiated a nationwide marketing plan in 2001 to promote its Family SharePlan, which advertised a monthly allotment of minutes that could be shared among up to four phones for a single fixed monthly charge. But the suit claimed the company failed to disclose that it would charge overtime minutes at a higher rate associated with the plan’s secondary phones, as opposed to the additional minute rate associated with the primary phones, even if the overtime minutes were made on the primary and not on a secondary phone.

It was alleged that Verizon was aware that its overtime minutes billing practice was inadequately disclosed to and that the customers didn’t understand the practice. Family SharePlan customers. A deadline of Feb. 27, 2015, was requested for objections to be filed to the proposed settlement. A final approval hearing was requested to be held on March 20, 2015.

 

Biotronik Inc. to Pay $4.9 Million to Resolve Claims that Company Paid Kickbacks to Physicians

Biotronik Inc. of Lake Oswego, Oregon, has agreed to pay the United States $4.9 million to resolve allegations made under the False Claims Act that the company made various improper payments to induce physicians to use devices that it manufactured and sold, the Justice Department announced today.  
“When medical device manufacturers make improper payments to physicians, they encourage medical decision-making based on financial gain rather than the best interests of patients,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Today’s resolution demonstrates the Department of Justice’s continuing commitment to ensuring that consumers of federal health care programs receive appropriate medical care.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Biotronik, through the payment of kickbacks to physicians, caused hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for the implantation of Biotronik pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices.  Biotronik allegedly induced electrophysiologists and cardiologists practicing in Nevada and Arizona to continue using Biotronik devices, or to convert to Biotronik devices, by paying the implanting physician in the form of repeated meals at expensive restaurants and inflated payments for membership on a physician advisory board.
“Today’s resolution of claims underscores one of the key purposes of the Anti-Kickback law – to ensure that the judgment exercised by health care providers in treating Medicare and Medicaid patients is not influenced by illegal payments,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner for the Eastern District of California.
The settlement announced today stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by a former Biotronik employee, Brian Sant, pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in the proceeds of the suit.  The act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it did in this case as to some of Sant’s allegations.  Sant will receive approximately $840,000 of the federal settlement.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
 

Stryker Reaches Settlement Deal for Problematic Hip Implants!



Stryker Corp. will pay at least $1.43 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits from patients who had to have surgery to remove problematic hip implants, under a deal announced Monday.
The agreement, brokered by a New Jersey Superior Court judge, resolves state and federal lawsuits against the maker of orthopedics. It was announced Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Stryker said the $1.43 billion figure represents the "low end of the range of probable loss to resolve these matters."

The lawsuits stem from two hip implants that Stryker recalled due to corrosion and other problems in 2012. One year ago Johnson & Johnson paid $2.5 billion to settle 8,000 lawsuits from patients who had to have the company's metal ball-and-socket hip implant removed or replaced.

Plaintiffs in 39 states alleged Kalamazoo-based Stryker sold defective hips that corroded while in patients' bodies and caused illness, including pain and swelling in the tissue around the implant.

"The settlement represents one of the largest medical device settlements with an unlimited compensation fund," said Minneapolis lawyer Charles Zimmerman, who helped negotiate the deal as part of the lead-counsel committee for the case. "We are pleased that we were able to reach a settlement with such meaningful relief."

Stryker Corp. expects to make most of the payments by the end of 2015.

Thousands of cases from patients across the country have been consolidated under a single federal judge in Minnesota in a "multi-district litigation," a common type of mass lawsuit filed against health care companies, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported.

EBI Not Upholding Original Claims Of Bone Growth Stimulators!

 

EBI LLC, doing business as Biomet Spine and Bone Healing Technologies and Biomet Inc. have agreed to pay $6.07 million to resolve allegations that EBI violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce use of its bone growth stimulators and billing federal health care programs for refurbished stimulators.

 EBI is a medical device company located in Parsippany, New Jersey, that sells bone growth stimulators, which are used to repair fractures that are slow to heal.  It is a subsidiary of Biomet, which is based in Warsaw, Indiana.    

“Medical device companies must not use improper financial incentives to influence the decision to use their products,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General August Flentje of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “This settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to protect patients, and the taxpayers who fund their care, by ensuring that medical decisions are based on the patients’ medical needs rather than the financial interests of others.”

The United States alleged that, from 2001 to 2008, EBI paid staff at doctors’ offices to influence doctors to order its bone growth stimulators.  These payments were allegedly provided pursuant to personal service agreements with staff members. The United States concluded that these payments violated the Anti-Kickback Act and resulted in false billings to various federal health care programs, including Medicare.  The settlement also resolves EBI’s disclosure that it received federal reimbursements for bone growth stimulators that had been refurbished.     

“This settlement demonstrates our resolve in ensuring that patients receive, and the government pays for, health care that is based on sound medical judgment, and not compromised by kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts. 
“Kickbacks taint medical decision-making, cause overutilization of services, and lead to increased taxpayer and patient costs,” said Special Agent in Charge Phillip Coyne of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  “These improper inducements have no place in government health programs relied on by millions of Americans.”

The settlement resolves in part an allegation filed in a lawsuit by Yu Yue, a former product manager for EBI, in federal court in New Jersey.  The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  Yu’s share has not yet been determined.

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; HHS-OIG; the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.    

Medicare Fraud From State To State!

An owner and operator of two community mental health centers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a patient recruiter for a community mental health center in Houston, Texas, were sentenced  to prison today for their involvement in a $258.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving partial hospitalization psychiatric (PHP) services. 

Roslyn F. Dogan, 53, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and James R. Hunter, 48, of Houston, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson in the Middle District of Louisiana to 90 months in prison and 60 months in prison, respectively.  In addition to the prison sentences, Dogan was ordered to pay $43.5 million and Hunter was ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution.

After six days of trial, on May 21, 2014, a federal jury found Dogan guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and two counts of health care fraud, and also found Hunter guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks.

According to evidence presented at trial, Dogan was a co-owner of Serenity Center of Baton Rouge, and a manager and marketer for both Serenity Center and Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Baton Rouge.  Dogan recruited Medicare beneficiaries who were living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to attend the PHP programs at Shifa and Serenity, knowing the individuals did not need the psychotherapy programs.  She then devised methods to keep the patients at the facilities for as long as possible without invoking scrutiny from Medicare, including by having patients involuntarily committed to local inpatient psychiatric hospitals and then discharged and re-admitted to one of the Shifa facilities. 

 Additionally, Dogan directed administrators and therapists at the Shifa Baton Rouge facilities to falsify treatment records indicating that patients had received psychotherapy treatment when, in fact, the patients had not received such treatment.  She further concealed the fraud by directing that patient billing statements be intercepted from the mail to prevent the patients from seeing the services that had been billed in their names, and by stealing incriminating documents seized pursuant to a search warrant from federal custody.

Evidence at trial demonstrated that Hunter agreed to recruit Medicare beneficiaries to attend the PHP program at Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Texas in Houston in exchange for $1,500 per week in cash.  Hunter recruited Medicare recipients from group homes who were not appropriate for the PHP services, but who agreed to attend the program in exchange for $75 cash per week.  To ensure their admittance to the program, Hunter instructed each beneficiary as what to say to physicians regarding their supposed psychiatric symptoms.  As a result of the kickback scheme with Hunter, the Houston facility billed Medicare approximately $16.5 million.

According to court documents, the investigation into the three community mental health centers has resulted in the conviction of seventeen individuals, including therapists, marketers, administrators, owners and a medical director.  The companies collectively submitted more than $258 million in claims to Medicare for PHP services over a period of seven years.  Medicare paid approximately $43.5 million on those claims.