The settlements announced today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office are the direct result of a joint investigative effort by the DCIS, the FBI, HHS OIG, DoL OIG, OPM OIG, Postal OIG, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Our office is dedicated to helping people afford their lives and live with dignity and respect. Medicaid fraud robs Minnesotans of both: that’s why we’re dedicated to fighting it,” Attorney General Ellison said. “Everyone should take home every dollar they earn, including overtime wages.
Class action lawsuits have been filed alleging that Zantac exposes users to unsafe levels of a probable carcinogen and that the manufacturers knew about the risk but failed to disclose it. Attorneys working with ClassAction.org would like to hear from people with recalled Biocell breast implants or tissue expanders.
The second settlement, approved on January 15, 2019, by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken and unsealed today, requires WALGREENS to pay $60 million to resolve allegations that it overbilled Medicaid by failing to disclose to and charge Medicaid the lower drug prices that WALGREENS offered the public through a discount program.
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General helps protect the rights, freedoms, and safety you enjoy as a citizen of the Hoosier state.
Attorney General Rokita has released a Parents Bill of Rights, providing a roadmap for Hoosier parents and caregivers to exercise their legal right to have a voice in their children’s education. Learn more here.
Global Health Care Company Abbott Laboratories Inc. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Justice Department announced today. The resolution – the second largest payment by a drug company – includes a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $700 million and civil settlements with the federal government and the states totaling $800 million. Abbott also will be subject to court-supervised probation and reporting obligations for Abbott’s CEO and Board of Directors.
The FDA is responsible for approving drugs as safe and effective for specified uses. Under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), a company in its application to the FDA must specify each intended use of a drug. A company’s promotional activities must be limited to only the intended uses that FDA approved.
First, Abbott has pleaded guilty to a criminal misdemeanor for misbranding Depakote in violation of the FDCA. Under the plea agreement, Abbott will pay a criminal fine of $500 million, forfeit assets of $198.5 million, and submit to a term of probation for five years. In addition, Abbott will also pay $1.5 million to the Virginia Medicaid Fraud ...
Abbott also will be subject to court-supervised probation and reporting obligations for Abbott’s CEO and Board of Directors. “Today’s settlement shows further evidence of our deep commitment to public health and our determination to hold accountable those who commit fraud,” said James M. Cole, Deputy Attorney General.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. The civil settlement was reached by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch.
In the agreed statement of facts, Abbott also admitted that from 2001 through 2006, the Company misbranded Depakote by marketing the drug to treat schizophrenia. Abbott funded two studies of the use of Depakote to treat schizophrenia, and both failed to meet the main goals established for the study.