Settlements of False Claims Act Allegations

April 4th, 2013

Intermountain Health Care Inc. is a non-profit health care organization and the principal health care provider in the state of Utah. On  April 3, 2013, the Department of Justice announced that Intermountain agreed to pay the United States Government $25.5 million to settle allegations under both the False Claims Act and the Stark Statute. These violations were self-disclosed by Intermountain and involved fostering improper pecuniary relationships with referring physicians.

Fluor Hanford LLC is a contractor for the Department of Energy and performs management and engineering services at the DOE’s Hanford Nuclear Site in eastern Washington. Between 2005 and 2009, Fluor was contracted by the DOE to manage and operate the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) center. As of April 3, 2013, Fluor Hanford agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations it had violated the False Claims Act by using federal funds for lobbying. The Department of Justice alleges that Fluor used federal funding to lobby Congress and other federal officials to increase funding for the HAMMER Center, violating both the false claims act and the Byrd Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for lobbying. The allegations against Fluor were initiated by a whistleblower law suit filed under the False Claims Act by a former employee of Fluor, Loydene Rambo.

**Source: Department of Justice **


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