Neurosurgeon, 2 companies settle kickback allegations
May 3, 2021
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) A former Sanford Health neurosurgeon and two medical device distributorships that he owns will pay $4.4 million to settle allegations that they defrauded the federal government through illegal kickback schemes, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.
The settlement resolves allegations that over the course of nearly a decade, Wilson Asfora and his distributorships, Medical Designs and Sicage, knowingly and willfully engaged in three kickback schemes to allow Asfora to profit from his use of over a dozen devices in his medical procedures.
Medical Designs and Sicage also agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty for failing to report Asfora’s ownership interests in the two companies, as required by federal law.
Dr. Wilson Asfora and two affiliated companies agree to pay $4.4 million to settle healthcare fraud allegations By Todd Epp
May 3, 2021 9:42 AM
WASHINGTON – Neurosurgeon Wilson Asfora, M.D. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and two medical device distributorships that he owns, Medical Designs LLC and Sicage LLC, have agreed to pay $4.4 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to illegal payments to Asfora to induce the use of certain medical devices, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as claims for medically unnecessary surgeries.
Medical Designs and Sicage agreed to pay an additional $100,000 in penalties to settle allegations that they violated the Open Payments Program by failing to report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Asfora’s ownership interests and payments made to Asfora.
Details Written by IVN
St. Louis, Missouri - The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced a civil complaint against defendants Eric Anthony Nepute and Quickwork LLC, doing business as Wellness Warrior, in the first enforcement action alleging violations of the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the defendants advertised that their vitamin D and zinc nutritional supplements could prevent or treat COVID-19 without competent or reliable scientific evidence to support their claims. Further, the defendants allegedly advertised without scientific support that their supplements were equally or more effective therapies for COVID-19 than the currently available vaccines. The complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief to stop the defendants from continuing to make deceptive advertising claims.
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During a question-and-answer session following his opening
remarks at the Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Conference earlier
this year, Senator Chuck Grassley said that the government needed
to come down with a sledgehammer, not a toothpick
against fraud.
1 Senator Grassley, a co-sponsor of the
1986 Amendments to the federal False Claims Act (FCA or the Act)
and a longtime proponent of the Act and its qui tam provision, also
weighed in on some timely and controversial aspects of FCA
litigation, including the ability of the Department of Justice
Nearly 500 Charged By DOJ For COVID-19 Fraud Schemes 1033wvyb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 1033wvyb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.