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FTC Charges Settled By CVS After Deceptive Prescription Pricing For Seniors And Disabled Consumers

Stories like this scare me. Especially when I have family that utilizes these pharmacies and participates in the Medicare program. If you’re using Part D prescription drugs from CVS, read on…. It was announced late last week that the CVS Caremark Corporation has settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for deceptive pricing charges that …

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ConsumerCellular Targets Retired Citizens With Affordable Cell Phone Plans And Senior Friendly Telephones

A few weeks ago Steve came to me and said, “hey, do you think you could find the cheapest cell phone service for someone that talks less than 120 minutes a month using the site ConsumerCellular.com?” “Of course,” I thought. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I started my search by heading over to ConsumerCellular.com where they provide a …

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The Misbranding of Vioxx Results In A Nearly $1 Billion Resolution

Last week the Justice Department announced that Merck, Sharp, & Dohme, an American pharmaceutical company, has agreed to resolve criminal charges and civil claims in relation to their promotion and marketing of the painkiller, Vioxx (rofecoxib) by paying $950 million. Yes, you read that right; just shy of $1 billion. Under the resolution terms, Mereck …

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Patient Recruiter Pleads Guilty To Role In Miami-Area $25 Million Home Health Medicare Fraud

Another defendant in the Miami $25 million home health Medicare fraud scheme pled guilty for her participation in the scheme as a patient recruiter. Beatriz Torres-Cruz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of solicitation of health care kickbacks. Torres-Cruz was charged in a February 2011 indictment. …

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Vanguard Settles With $2 Million In False Claims Act

It was announced last week that the United States and the State of Tennessee will be receiving $2 million in a settlement of False Claims Act allegations from Vanguard and its wholly owned subsidiary, Vanguard Health Care Ancillary. The settlement resolves claims by the United States and the state of Tennessee that Vanguard wrongly billed …

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Until Fraud Do Us Part : Married Fraudsters Face Jail Time For Health Care Kickbacks

Married floridian fraudsters, Robert and Nikki Jenkins have each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit and receive health care kick backs after funneling patients through, American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), a fraudulent mental health company. Then Jenkins’ managed and operated Life 4 Life Inc., which operated multiple halfway houses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. …

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Two Of America’s “Most Wanted” Sentenced

Two of America’s “Most Wanted” health care fraud fugitives were sentenced in Florida last week. Two sisters, Caridad Guilarte and Clara Guilarte, owned a fraudulent medical clinic near Detroit that lead to a $9.1 million Medicare fraud scheme. Each of the sisters face 14 years in prison. In August the sisters plead guilty to one …

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Defendants Lose The Weight Of Their Assets In “Hoodia” Weight Loss Case

In April of 2009 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged makers of a “Hoodia” weight loss supplement with deceptive advertising. The companies, Nutraceuticals International, Stella Labs and key company players and controllers David Romeo, Deborah Vickery, Craig Payton, and Zoltan Klivinyi claimed that using their product would lead to weight loss and appetite suppression. In …

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135 Month Sentence For $45 Million Medicare Fraud

Houston, Texas doctor, Christina Joy Clardy, was sentenced to just over 11 years (135 months) in federal prison for a monumental health care fraud conspiracy the resulted in Medicare and Texas Medicaid programs to be billed $45,039,230 over a 30 month period. Clardy is the third defendant to be sentenced in this matter. Last week …

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