fraud charges

HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy (photo) has lost his bid for a new trial on political corruption charges unrelated to the $2.7 billion accounting fraud problem. Both Scrushy and former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman had been found guilty in June of taking part in a bribery scandal, on charges, including conspiracy and mail fraud, …

Officials at the state's University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) continue to struggle with the fallout from a massive corruption scandal. This week, a federal monitor concluded that the school ad billed Medicare and Medicaid almost $36 million and paid $5.7 million in illegal fees to physicians since 2002, stating that illegal activity continues "to this day." Monitor Herbert J. Stern found that the school had given several cardiologists no-show teaching jobs at a …

Last year former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy avoided a conviction related to HealthSouth's $2.64 billion fraud scandal. But as a result of the accounting irregularities, Scrushy walked off with $47.8 million in bonus payments. Now the Alabama Supreme Court has upheld an order requiring him to repay the company $51.5 million--the bonus payment plus interest totaling $15,500 a day. In their opinion, the Court stated, "Scrushy was unjustly enriched by the payment of the bonuses, which …

St. Barnabas Health System, the largest healthcare network in New Jersey, has agreed to pay a $265 million settlement to resolve fraud charges brought by federal prosecutors. The health network--which employs 5,000 doctors, operates 10 hospitals and runs a network of clinics and nursing homes--is the state's largest Medicare biller. A federal audit found that St. Barnabas systematically overcharged the government by as much as $500 million over a ten year period between 1995 and …

Ousted HealthSouth CEO Robert Scrushy failed in his attempt to convince the company's shareholders to make changes to the company's bylaws that could have helped him regain a degree of control. The Wall Street Journal reports that the SEC was called in to referee the dispute over the course of the last few months. Scrushy, who was acquitted of federal fraud charges related to HealthSouth's spectacular flameout last year, now faces charges over an alleged $500,000 bribe to former …

In a long-expected development, New Jersey-based pharmacy benefits manager giant Medco said it has reached a settlement with the Justice Department in a case involving three year old fraud charges against the drug distributor. Medco will pay the feds $163 million to settle the case, which was triggered by accusations by three employees at a Las Vegas distribution center who claimed the company routinely underfilled prescriptions, changed doctor's orders and canceled them completely in …

Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy paid a journalist to write flattering articles about him during his trial on federal fraud charges. The writer, Audrey Lewis, admits she was paid $10,000 through a PR firm for a series of pieces on Scrushy that appeared in the Birmingham Times. Scrushy was acquitted of the fraud charges after a contentious trial in which his defense team was accused of using improper tactics to win the sympathies of a majority African-American jury. In the …

> Winsted Pediatrics has settled overbilling charges with the feds after billing Medicare for flu vaccine it received free from the government. Winsted Pediatrics has an interesting explanation for the charges--outdated billing software. Article

> In an effort to combat fraud, Pfizer has been using RFID tags to track Viagra shipments. …

Ex-HealthSouth CEO Robert Scrushy has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming he was wrongly terminated. In a suit filed in federal district court in Birmingham, AL, lawyers representing Scrushy cited his acquittal of fraud charges as evidence that he should not have lost his job. Scrushy became a celebrity after a federal trial in which he claimed his company's spectacular flameout was due to a conspiracy led by CFO Bill Owens. Last week, Owens was sentenced to five years in prison …

The Justice Department said that British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay a $150 million fine to settle fraud charges stemming from its pricing and marketing of two antinausea drugs. The company is accused of inflating the prices it charged Medicaid and Medicare programs for Zofran and Kytril. The two drugs are commonly used to combat nausea caused by radiation treatments. story