Date:   8/2/2005 11:51:14 PM ( 19 y ago)
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I was'nt sure where to post this at first. Considered the War Crimes forum and it probably does fit there better but here will do. I suppose! UnChazzed!!




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Title JAIL VERSUS NO JAIL--HOW TO PLAY THE GAME---INCORPORATE AS A DRUG COMPANY
Release Date 2005-06-24
Time 18:18:00
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Article Text

JUNE 24, 2005. A couple of days ago, I posted Mr. Kennedy's article on mercury and autism, a devastating summary of certain crimes in the chemical war against the population.

I laid out the reasons we are not seeing the poisoners put in jail.

Below, you will find a list and description of cases made against a number of big corporations for fraud. This list covers judgments since 1986. Notice how many of these convicted criminals are drug companies or outfits operating in some sector of the medical biz. (Source: the list and descriptions are quoted verbatim from taf.org/top20.htm, the site for Taxpayers Against Fraud)

Several points. Though the dollar amounts ripped off in these fraud crimes are very large, there is no mention of individuals actually being sent to jail.

We need to understand that, since the late 19th century, all corporations, through prior schemes and scams and court rulings, have attained the status of an INDIVIDUAL PERSON.

This is, of course, a hoax. A corporation is no more an individual than a crowd of 50,000 people at a baseball game is one person.

But corporations wanted to be treated as individual persons to gain advantages in the political and legal realms.

One could say that an individual also has responsibilities if he has rights, but in the twilight-zone dimension of legal prosecution, corporations have managed, to a degree, to avoid the prison sentences to which individuals are vulnerable.

And one of the biggest winners in escaping the slammer is medically-related business.

Imagine, for example, that you set up a fraudulent investment scheme in your town or city and bilk residents of 50 million dollars. You are caught and tried and found guilty. You would expect some jail time.

However, it seems that if you are a drug company and you steal far more than $50 million, you are working behind an impenetrable shield.

You engineer yourself a civil charge instead of a criminal charge, or if a criminal action is filed, the sentence is a fine, not years behind bars.

You have juice. Your whole industry has special juice.

Even if your fraud is perpetrated against the government (e.g., the Medicare system), where you would expect particular anger directed back at you by prosecutors and judges---who are employees of the government---you magically slip off the hook.

Indeed, in some of these cases, it appears that criminal charges, through some sort of cast spell, turn into negotations with the government about the amount of dollar fine that will be levied.

People from your side and the other side huddle around a table and work out the fee you'll pay for doing fraudulent business.

Quite a trick.

If you, as a private individual, are caught selling 500 pounds of pot, would you expect to be able to work that kind of deal?

A whole lot of people out there in the world are now becoming aware that drug companies are committing acts a great deal more serious than money fraud. These chemical warfare specialists are selling overt poisons to the population.

The drugs are maiming and killing patients in huge numbers. At a bare minimum, 100,000 people dying from the correct prescription of FDA-approved drugs in the US every year.

And still, where are the photos of pharmaceutical executives being led off in chains to prison for long terms?

Government prosecution of criminals happens to be one area where public pressure can affect the severity of sentences handed down. If the hue and cry become loud enough, prosecutors and judges will respond. After all, these are people who have the job of sending other people to prison. Some of these judges and DAs get off on the thrill of watching criminals disappear into the gloom of incarceration.

I think it's about time we shift the so-called war on drugs to the arena where the most harm by far is being done: pharmaceuticals.

Instead of merely extracting a promise from a Merck or a Glaxo or a Pfizer or a Lilly to post their studies online, even if those studies reveal their drugs are toxic, let's opt for 40 years or 50 years in federal prison for the CEOs and the researchers who cover up the poisonous effects of their compounds.

Then, behind that, we could also vector in on medical-journal editors who publish studies that claim a drug is safe and effective---when, with a little digging, those editors would have found out that the studies were rigged and functioned as fronts to conceal other studies that showed the extraordinarily toxic effects of the same drugs. I think these editors should be charged and tried for aiding and abetting a felony. A felony on the order of homicide or negligent homicide or depraved indifference.

A five to ten year jolt for an editor at The New England Journal or JAMA would create an incentive to be a little more perspicacious.

Following that, we shine the spotlight on some physicians who are prescribing viciously toxic drugs without doing the simple research that would inform them of the true character of these little packaged disasters. In these cases, I think we should see terms of not less than 20 years.

Perhaps then, doctors would magically find a way to become less prone to the influence and offered perks of detail men from the pharmaceutical houses.

I return now to the lesser offenses, the top fraud cases. Read, and look for the jail sentences. I find none.

From taf.org:

Since 1986/ False Claims Act judgments and settlements against fraud feasors have totaled over $12 billion. Below are the top 20 recoveries to date

1) HCA -- $731,400,000 under the False Claims Act
In December 2000, HCA The Healthcare Company (formerly known as Columbia HCA), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the United States, pled guilty to criminal conduct and agreed to pay more than $840 million in criminal fines, civil penalties and damages for unlawful billing practices. Of this amount, $731,400,000 was recovered under the False Claims Act. Under the settlement agreement, HCA's payment will resolve five allegations regarding the manner in which it bills the U.S. government and the states for health care costs. HCA 's frauds on the taxpaying public included: billing for lab tests that were not medically necessary and not ordered by physicians, "upcoding" medical problems in order to get higher reimbursements for more serious medical issues, billing the government for advertising under the guise of "community education," and billing the government for non-reimbursable costs incurred in the purchase of home health agencies around the country. Note that the December 2000 agreement does not resolve allegations that HCA unlawfully charged the U.S. Government for the costs of running its hospitals, and that it paid kickbacks to physicians to get Medicare and Medicaid patients referred to its facilities.

2) HCA -- $631,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In June 2003, HCA Inc. (formerly known as Columbia/HCA and HCA – The Healthcare Company) agreed to pay the United States $631 million in civil penalties and damages arising from false claims submitted to Medicare and other federal health programs. This settlement resolves HCA's civil liability for false claims including cost report fraud and the payment of kickbacks to physicians. In a separate administrative settlement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HCA agreed to pay an additional $250 million to resolve overpayment claims arising from its cost reporting practices. Combined with the December 2000 settlement, the government has recovered $1.7 billion from HCA, by far the largest recovery ever reached by the government in a health care fraud investigation.

3) TAP [Taketa-Abbott Pharmaceutical] Pharmaceutical Products Inc. -- $559,483,560 under the False Claims Act
In October 2001, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. agreed to pay $875 million to resolve criminal charges and civil liabilities in connection with fraudulent drug pricing and marketing of Lupron, a drug sold for the treatment of prostate cancer. Of this amount, $559,483,560 was recovered under the False Claims Act. In addition, TAP pled guilty to a Conspiracy to violate the Prescription Drug Marketing Act and paid a $290 million criminal fine, the largest criminal fine ever in a health care fraud prosecution. Under the Lupron scheme, TAP gave doctors kickbacks by providing free samples with the knowledge that the physicians would bill Medicare and Medicaid $500 per dose. At the time the Lupron fraud was discovered, Lupron accounted for 10% of the money spent on prescription drugs under Medicare Part-A. As part of the settlement, TAP entered into what prosecutors called a "sweeping" corporate integrity agreement.

4) Abbott Labs-- $400,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In July of 2003, a unit of Abbott Laboratories, Inc. pled guilty to obstructing a criminal investigation and defrauding the Medicare and Medicaid programs and agreed to pay $400 million to resolve civil claims. In addition, the subsidiary of Abbott Labs, CG Nutritionals, Inc., agreed to a criminal fine of $200 million. The Abbott/CG Nutritionals scam involved the sale of enteral products which pump special foods into the stomachs and digestive systems of patients who, because of disease or some other disorder, are not able to ingest meals in a normal manner.

5) Fresenius Medical Care of North America -- $385,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In January of 2000, Fresenius Medical Care of North America, the world's largest provider of kidney dialysis products and services, agreed to pay the United States $486 million to resolve a sweeping investigation of health care fraud at National Medical Care, Inc. (NMC), a kidney dialysis subsidiary owned by Fresenius. Of this amount, $385,000,00 was recovered under the False Claims Act. Three NMC subsidiaries also pled guilty to three separate conspiracies and were levied fines of $101 million. Fresenius has also entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Fresenius/NMC scam involved fraudulent and fictitious blood testing claims by LifeChem, Inc., NMC's clinical blood testing laboratory, kickbacks to dialysis facilities to obtain blood testing contracts for LifeChem, and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare for intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN), a nutritional therapy provided to patients during their dialysis treatments.

6) SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories Inc. doing business as GlaxoSmith Kline -- $325,000,000 under the False Claims Act (tie)In March of 1997, SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories Inc. (SBCL) was ordered to pay $325 million for filing of false claims relating to laboratory tests paid for in whole or in part by the federal government. SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories also agreed to adopt a corporate compliance agreement. The multiple scams involved adding on laboratory tests not requested by doctors and which were not medically necessary, billing for lab tests that were not actually performed, giving kickbacks to doctors in order to get their business, and billing Medicare for dialysis testing already paid for by kidney dialysis centers.

6) HealthSouth -- $325,000,000 under the False Claims Act (tie)
In December of 2004, HealthSouth Corporation, the nation's largest provider of rehabilitative medicine services, agreed to pay the United States $325 million to settle allegations that the company systematically defrauded Medicare and other federal healthcare programs. Said Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler, "HealthSouth's fraud on Medicare was driven both by longstanding business practices in its outpatient physical therapy business and improprieties in its inpatient rehabilitation business."

7) National Medical Enterprises-- $324,200,000 under the False Claims Act
In July 1994, National Medical Enterprises Inc. was ordered to pay $379 million in criminal fines, civil damages, and penalties as part of a settlement in a case involving alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud at psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals in over 30 states. The charges involved kickbacks to doctors for making referrals to the hospitals. Of the total $379 million settlement, $324,200,000 represented recoveries under the False Claims Act, and the rest represents criminal and civil fines.

8) Gambro Healthcare -- 310,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In December 2004, Gambro Healthcare agreed to pay $310.5 million to resolve civil liabilities stemming from alleged kickbacks paid to physicians, false statements made to procure payment for unnecessary tests and services, and payments made to Gambro Supply, a sham durable medical equipment company. The settlement also requires Gambro to allocate $15 million to resolve potential liability with various state Medicaid programs. Gambro Healthcare has also entered into a comprehensive Corporate Integrity Agreement. The Gambro Supply Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gambro Healthcare, has also agreed to plead guilty to to criminal felony charges; admit to execution of a healthcare fraud scheme; pay a $25 million fine; and be permanently excluded from the Medicare program.

9) Schering-Plough-- $292,969,482 under the False Claims Act
In July 2004, Schering-Plough, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, agreed to plead guilty to fraud in the pricing of Claritin sold to the Medicaid program. The settlement agreement included a criminal fine of $52.5 million, $117 million to settle state claims, and nearly $176 million to settle federal False Claims Act claims.

10) AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals -- $266,127,844 under the False Claims Act
In June 2003, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, pled guilty to health care fraud and agreed to pay $355,000,000 to resolve criminal charges and civil liabilities in connection with its drug pricing and marketing practices with regard to Zoladex, a drug sold for the treatment of prostate cancer. Of this amount, $266,127,844 was recovered under the False Claims Act, and the remainder was levied as criminal fines. AstraZeneca pled guilty to giving doctors kickbacks by providing free drug samples knowing that the doctors would then turn around and bill Medicare and Medicaid hundreds of dollars per sample.

11) Bayer Corporation -- $257,200,000 under the False Claims Act In April 2003, Bayer Corp. paid $257,200,000 to settle Medicaid fraud charges involving a "lick and stick” scheme in which Bayer sold re-labeled products to an HMO at deeply discounted prices, and then concealed this price discount in order to avoid paying additional rebates to the government. $143 million of the Bayer settlement went to resolve a whistleblower's allegations that Bayer defrauded the Medicaid and Public Health Service programs by relabeling products sold to a health maintenance organization at deeply discounted rates and then concealing the discounts to avoid paying rebates, in violation of the Medicaid Rebate program. In addition, Bayer paid $108 million to reimburse state Medicaid programs for the same conduct. An additional $5.5 million criminal fine was also levied.

12) First American Health Care of Georgia -- $225,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In October of 1996, a home health care organization and its purchaser agreed to reimburse the federal government $255 million for overbilling and making fraudulent Medicare claims. Under the agreement, First American Health Care of Georgia, Inc., the nation's largest home health care provider, and its new owner, Integrated Health Services, Inc, agreed to reimburse the federal government for money stolen from Medicare through fraudulent billing practices. The alleged fraud was that First American billed Medicare for costs unrelated to the care of patients in their homes, including the personal expenses of First American's senior management, as well as for the company's marketing and lobbying expenses. In a related criminal action, the company's two major principals, Jack and Margie Mills, were found guilty of defrauding Medicare, and were sentenced to prison terms of 90 months and 32 months respectively for their participation in the fraud. [Oops. There was a prison sentence for these two people. JR] An Epilogue: IHS never paid the Federal Government under the terms of the settlement, and IHS itself filed for bankruptcy in February of 2000. The bankruptcy courts later collected 7.5 cents on the dollar, or $19.1 million of the original $255 million settlement.

13) BankAmerica -- $187.5 million under the California False Claims Act
In 1998 BankAmerica Corp. paid $ 187.5 million to settle charges that it illegally kept unclaimed bond proceeds from the state of California and more than 1,000 cities, counties and public agencies statewide. This is the single largest state False Claims Act settlement to date. [the first non-medical judgment to make the chart of top frauds--JR]

14) Laboratory Corporation of America -- $182,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In November 1996, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp), agreed to pay $182 million to resolve charges that it submitted false claims for medically unnecessary laboratory tests to federal and state health care programs. The fraud involved bundled lab tests that were billed to Medicare as free-standing tests, resulting in an eight-fold increase in charges to Medicare.

15) Beverly Enterprises Inc. -- $170,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In February 2000, Beverly Enterprises Inc., the nation's largest nursing home chain, agreed to pay $175 million to resolve civil and criminal charges that it defrauded Medicare. In addition to $170,000,000 collected under the False Claims Act, the company agreed to pay a $5 million criminal fine and divest itself of ten nursing homes. The fraud involved nursing home workers charging Medicare for time not spent on Medicare patients. Instead of recording the true time spent on Medicare patients, Beverly-California fabricated records based on set formulas designed to maximize profits while avoiding detection by Medicare auditors. In addition to the guilty plea, the settlement requires Beverly to divest itself of 10 nursing homes and to submit to extensive monitoring by the Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Inspector General.

16) Pfizer/Warner-Lambert -- $152,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In May of 2004, Pfizer/Warner-Lambert agreed to pay $430 million to resolve civil and criminal charges that it defrauded Medicaid by engaging in an aggressive and complex scheme to illegally promote Neurontin for at least 11 off-label uses. In addition, Warner-Lambert is alleged to have made kickbacks and payments to doctors in the form of trips to Puerto Rico, Florida, Hawaii and elsewhere as an inducement for them to give speeches promoting the off-label use of the drugs, as well as paying doctors to "author" medical journal articles that were actually written by a medical marketing firm. Of the total $430 million payout, $152 million will settle the False Claims Act aspects of the case, and an additional $240 million represents criminal penalties. Another $38 million will go to state consumer-protection agencies.

17) United Technologies -- $150,000,000 under the False Claims Act In April 1994, United Technologies Corporation agreed to pay the government $150 million to settle claims that the company’s Sikorsky Aircraft Division improperly billed the Department of Defense for sales of helicopters. [the second non-medical fraud to make the charts--JR]

18) Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois -- $140,000,000 under the False Claims Act
In July 1998, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (also known as Health Care Service Corporation) pled guilty to eight felony counts and agreed to pay $144 million. The nature of the fraud was that Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois manipulated work samples and falsified reports to the Health Care Finance Administration in order to conceal evidence of its poor performance as a federally-contracted processor of Medicare claims. In addition to $140,000,000 in civil fines under the False Claims Act, the company agreed to pay $4 million in criminal fines.

19) Northrop Grumman -- $111,200,000 under the False Claims Act In June 2003, Northrop Grumman agreed to pay the federal government $111.2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that TRW Inc., which it had recently acquired, padded bills submitted to the government under space and technology contracts. The whistleblower lawsuit charged that TRW defrauded the government by billing the government for work done on non-government contracts during the years 1990-1997.

20) Shell Oil Company -- $110 million under the False Claims Act
In January 2001, the Shell Oil Company agreed to pay $110 million to the federal government to resolve claims under the False Claims Act that Shell underpaid oil royalties for leases on federal land from 1980 to December 31, 1998. Under the federal oil lease program, oil companies are required to report the amount of oil they produce from federal land. By pumping more oil than it reported, Shell engaged in fraud against American taxpayers.

21) Vencor, Inc./Ventas Inc. -- $104,500,000 under the False Claims Act
In March 2001, Vencor Inc., one of the nation's largest nursing home chains, and Ventas Inc., a related real estate investment trust, agreed to pay the United States $104.5 million to resolve civil claims that Vencor knowingly submitted false claims against federal health care plans. Of the $104.5 million settlement, more than $20 million was accounted for by failure of Vencor to provide the promised quality of care to nursing home patients due to inadequate staffing, improper care of bedsores, and failure to meet resident's basic dietary needs. The remaining portions of the $104.5 million settlement included a $54 million civil fine for improper claims made on Vencor's hospital Medicare cost reports, and more than $24 million for over-billing for respiratory care services and supplies. In addition, the Louisville, Kentucky based health care provider and Ventas will pay the government $25 million to resolve certain administrative based Medicare claims. Vencor separately is reimbursing Medicare for other overpayments of approximately $90 million.

end of taf report

JON RAPPOPORT http://www.nomorefakenews.com

http://www.nomorefakenews.com/archives/archiveview.php?key=2690








 

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