JOHNSON AND JOHNSON WHISTLEBLOWER CASE NOVEMBER 2013

 Settlement with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson means a record payout for whistleblowers.The $167.7 million award is one of the largest whistleblower awards in U.S. history. It will be divided among an unspecified number of whistleblowers in three states, according to the Justice Department.

 

The $2.2 billion settlement between Johnson & Johnson
& authorities settles charges that J&J marketed drugs for unapproved uses and gave kickbacks to doctors and nursing homes. Attorney General Eric Holder said Johnson & Johnson and two subsidiaries "lined their pockets at the expense of American taxpayers, patients and the private insurance industry."
The settlement addresses both state and federal charges in criminal and civil courts.

The sum includes $112 million for whistleblowers in Pennsylvania, nearly $28 million in Massachusetts, and $28 million in California.
Joe Strom, a former employee of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Scios, will receive the entire $28 million awarded in California. He first brought suit against J&J in 2005 and ultimately helped government attorneys prepare for depositions and build their case. Strom worked for Scios for 9 months in 2003 and 2004.

 It's because of brave people like this group that BIG COMPANIES are exposed. It's got to be tough to come forward with information that not only could change your employment, but every area of your life. We need more advocates that are brave enough to face the wrongdoing in this world today!

Thank you for everyone who has stood up for what is truly right and not what will make you rich!

Gutsy Grandma Advocates for All of Us! Good Job Doris Ace! Medicare Fraud--



Authorities in Texas are investigating how an active 82-year-old grandmother was diagnosed as homebound, with a range of illnesses she did not have, including Type 2 diabetes, opening the door to potentially tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare payments for home health care, supplies and equipment she did not need.

A hidden camera recorded the undercover grandmother's visit to a doctor in McAllen, Texas, where she told the doctor and nurses she exercised regularly and, other than some hypertension and arthritis, was in excellent health. "I've really enjoyed good health all my life, God's been good to me," the doctor was told by Doris Ace,yet the official certification sent to Medicare for home health care services indicate she was homebound and suffered from two internal infections, incontinence and needs "assistance in all activities, unable to safely leave home."

 

 

On a patient referral form for home health care service, signed by the doctor, our undercover grandmother was also wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, even though she was not given a blood test which doctors say is the only way to diagnose diabetes.  

 

McAllen is considered a hot spot of Medicare fraud by the Inspector General's office which has already brought cases against a number of doctors- health care agencies and has many others under investigation. They have ten of the top physicians who have billed nearly $200 million in one specialty last year alone. Nationwide, the Inspector General's office estimates that $60 billion dollars of taxpayer money is lost to unchecked Medicare fraud every year.

 

 



 

State Farm Was NOT a Good Neighbor!!

Two Hurricane Katrina whistleblowers have shown that a State Farm insurance company committed fraud against the federal government in the mishandling of a homeowner's claim after the devastating 2005 storm, according to a federal jury in Mississippi.

The decision came after a long, complex legal battle between State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. & former State Farm independent auditors Cori and Kerri Rigsby. In 2006, the Rigsby sisters appeared in a series of exclusive ABC News reports in which the sisters claimed they had witnessed "widespread" fraud at the State Farm offices in Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi. The sisters said then that they saw State Farm supervisors demanding damage reports be buried, replaced or changed so that claims wouldn't have to be paid. One damage report, according to the sisters, was hidden in a special file with a sticky note attached to it saying, "Do not pay bill. Do not discuss."

 

"Katrina was devastating, but so was State Farm," Cori Rigsby said in 2006.

Cori & Keri Rigsby

 

 

Missouri Fraud Uncovered!

The former CEO of Mamtek committed fraud to secure almost $1.3 million from bond funds that were supposed to be used to build an artificial sweetener plant in a central Missouri town, a federal judge ruled in a bankruptcy case.




Bruce Cole CEO of Mamtek



In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey rejected all appeals raised by Bruce Cole & his wife, & ordered them to repay $904,167 that had been transferred to their personal accounts & an additional $360,000 sent overseas to creditors.

 

 

The Moberly Industrial Development Authority agreed in 2010 to issue $39 million in bonds to fund the building of the sweetener plant in Moberly, and Mamtek promised the plant would bring 600 jobs to the town. The state of Missouri also authorized up to $17.6 million in tax credits and other incentives for the plant.

 

 

But when the money became available, Mamtek submitted a $4.1 million invoice from "Ramwell Industries Inc.," a company that had provided no goods or services to Mamtek and that did not exist, Laughrey said. Bruce Cole helped to prepare that invoice, the source said.

The money was distributed to creditors, including Mamtek officers, with $700,000 going to Mr. Cole's wife's personal account shortly before the couple's Beverly Hills home was to be sold in foreclosure.

 

Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon one of Cole's supporters



Yet Another Ford Recall!

 



Ford is recalling 83,250 vehicles because a faulty part could cause loss of power or cause the vehicle to roll away if parked. This recall includes the 2012-2014 Ford Edge & Lincoln MKX, also the 2013 and newer Ford Flex & Lincoln MKT, and 2013 and newer Ford Taurus & Lincoln MKS. Due to the faulty installation of a clip in the axle the half shaft can disengage causing a break in the transmission to the wheels, increasing the risk of an accident. The vehicles can also roll out of park if the emergency brake isn’t secured. Repairs will be free if your vehicle is part of this group.

 

In the event that any of these problems should contribute to an accident of any kind, please call Jim Vander Linden, 612-339-6841 to discuss your options to recover any losses you may have endured.

 

 

DAVITA TAKING ADVANTAGE OF DIALYSIS PATIENTS AS WELL AS MEDICARE & MEDICAID

DAVITA

 

 

 

This is a name I want you to remember.

 

This company has many major dialysis clinics across the US. It's so sad to find out that while we, the taxpayers, work hard everyday to be able to help support needed programs like Medicare and Medicaid-- that low life people like the Ken Theory CEO of DaVita are taking advantage of these programs and us.

 

 

This company has a $101 million office tower, that includes fountains, gardens, and even a ski gondola used for meetings. The CEO dresses as a Three Musketeer for his meetings and calls the participants his villagers. That should be our first clue something is wrong.  He is the highest paid CEO in Colorado.

 

 

A nurse and doctor whom work for one of the clinics said they had noticed a wasteful problem and tried to address it with supervisors. They were both told not to start trouble and follow the instructions they had been given.

 

What was happening is for example if a dialysis patient required 100 cc of iron throughout the week they would draw that amount from 3 separate 100 cc vials - rather than purchasing smaller sized dosages, then they would use 50% of the first one and toss the rest, later in the week they would open a new vile use 25% and toss the rest, then once again at the end of the week they would again open a new vial and use 25% and toss the rest. So theoretically they were using 100 cc out of 300 cc that was open. But that way they could charge insurance for all 3 of them.  Now take that and multiply it by their now 2000 clinics where 2/3 of their income was from Medicare or Medicaid.  It is estimated that this added up to approximately $800 million in fraudulent charges.

 

 

They have previously this year settled a $55 million suit for fraud in Texas. The real injustice is that it boils down to that if they are prosecuted and fine it's the investors that pick up the bill, if they are not prosecuted then it's us, the taxpayers that pick up the bill. But at no point are the people who are the true criminals making the decisions and profits are they every held accountable or prosecuted. This in my opinion is true fraud and injustice for all of us!

$80 Million Judgment Entered Against BNP Paribas for False Claims to the U.S. Department of Agriculture



BNP Paribas is a global financial institution headquartered in Paris.   

 

The United States filed a lawsuit against BNP Paribas in connection with its receiving payment guarantees under USDA’s Supplier Credit Guarantee (SCG) Program.  The program provided payment guarantees to U.S.-based exporters. The SCG Program regulations stated that U.S. exporters were ineligible to participate in the SCG Program if the exporter and foreign importer were under common ownership or control because the government insured the shortage if any foreign purchase should decide to not pay.

           

The judgment entered by the court proves that from 1998 to 2005, BNP Paribas participated in a sustained scheme to defraud the SCG Program. Also the scheme American exporters and Mexican importers who were under common control improperly obtained SCG Program export credit guarantees for transactions between the those exporters and importers.  In some cases, they were blatant shams and did not involve any real shipment of any grain.  BNP Paribas accepted assignment of the credit guarantees from the American exporters, even though it knew that the affiliated exporters and importers were ineligible for SCG Program financing, and a BNP Paribas vice-president, Jerry Cruz, received bribes from the exporters.  Beginning in April 2005, when the Mexican importers began defaulting on their payment obligations, BNP Paribas submitted claims to the USDA for the resulting losses.

 

On Jan. 20, 2012, Cruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.