Brown, LLC Assists in Obtaining $140M False Claims Act Judgment

A whistleblower client represented by the qui tam law firm of Brown, LLC helped provide information that led to a $140 million judgment against a group of South Carolina healthcare entities owned by chiropractor Daniel McCollum. Unfortunately, the judgment was a result of a default and the government may not be able to recover its damages. If you have information regarding the assets of Defendants, especially information regarding secreting assets to avoid accountability, please contact Brown, LLC.

The whistleblowers alleged violations of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute, which are intended to prevent illicit financial considerations from improperly influencing medical decision-making for patients insured by government healthcare programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. Specifically, the whistleblowers alleged defendants paid kickbacks to providers to refer urine drug tests, which in turn led to unnecessary drug testing. Kickbacks and billing for medically unnecessary services are both prohibited under the False Claims Act. Such unscrupulous conduct costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

Pay-to-play programs in which there are financial incentives up and down the chain to promote billing government programs damage and corrupt the integrity of our healthcare system. The Department of Justice rigorously prosecutes illegal kickback schemes. In recent months, the aggregate amount of enforcement actions against kickback and other fraudulent schemes exceeded $300 million.

Individuals who are aware of such conduct – where outside entities are paid to funnel Medicare/Medicaid/TRICARE patients to healthcare providers – are encouraged to speak with a whistleblower law firm, like Brown, LLC.

If the $140 million South Carolina judgment is collectible, the five whistleblowers could share a reward of as much as $35 million, which is 25% of the total funds and the maximum whistleblower award for an action intervened by the government under federal law. Each whistleblower in a best-case scenario could receive $7 million, although other factors could greatly impact the final amount of compensation, if any.

Former FBI Special Agent Jason T. Brown, head of the whistleblower law firm Brown, LLC stated, “Justice may not always be swift, but whistleblowers are hugely important in assuring that justice is not denied. As long as courageous people keep coming forward to hold bad actors accountable, then the system stands a chance to not topple from endless fraud. In this instance, we admire the work the government put in to obtain this judgment and we strongly encourage anyone with information regarding the assets of the Defendants to come forward, so that taxpayers can receive the recovery they deserve.”

The whistleblowers are former workers in McCollum’s pain management clinics. They brought their claims under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to sue on behalf of the government to stop fraud against Medicare, Medicaid, and other government programs. In return for bringing this fraud to the government’s attention, the whistleblowers are eligible to receive a percentage of what the government recovers.

If you believe you have information regarding fraud upon a government program or a contract, you speak with a Medicare fraud whistleblower lawyer or whistleblower law firm like Brown, LLC that offers free, confidential consultations.