DOJ Obtains Restraining Order to Stop Oklahoma Company From Selling Purported COVID-19 Treatment

DOJ News

DOJ Obtains Restraining Order to Stop Oklahoma Company From Selling Purported COVID-19 Treatment

An Oklahoma federal court issued a temporary restraining order against Xephyr LLC d/b/a N-Ergetics and its owners ordering them to cease selling and distributing an unapproved treatment for Coronavirus.  N-Ergetics was allegedly promoting a colloidal silver product to cure, mitigate, or treat Coronavirus, pneumonia, AIDS, and cancer.  Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver particles in liquid, and is not generally recognized by qualified experts as safe and effective for any of the allegedly advertised uses.  This prosecution is one example of the DOJ’s increased enforcement efforts in response to perceived coronavirus-related misconduct.

“The facts leading to this civil action underscore the importance of exercising extreme caution when dealing with people making claims to have a cure-all,” said U.S. Attorney Brian J. Kuester for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.  “National disasters bring out the best of many Americans.  Unfortunately there are those who seek to take advantage of the fear and anxiety caused by widespread disasters, such as the Coronavirus, that may cause people to be more vulnerable to fraudulent claims.”

The USAO press release is here.

Florida Medical Practice Settles FCA Claims for $750,000

Premier Medical Associates, a Florida medical practice, agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to false billing.  The government alleges that the practice knowingly billed for medical services that were more expensive than the services actually performed, and also billed for services never actually provided.  The settlement highlights the government’s continued focus on health care fraud.

The USAO press release is here.

DOJ Partially Intervenes in FCA Lawsuit Against Radiology Services Providers

DOJ announced on May 19, 2020 that it has partially intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against the operators of 11 radiology facilities in Southern California.  The whistleblower complaint alleges that the defendants performed certain procedures without “direct physician supervision,” which is a Medicare requirement for procedures such as CT and MRI scans involving intravenous contrasts, and in turn billed Medicare for those procedures.  It also alleges that several of the defendants’ facilities were not properly accredited, which is a requirement for Medicare billing.

The DOJ press release is here.