A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against DFine Inc who is accused of paying kickbacks to induce physicians to use certain of the company’s devices that are used in treating spinal fractures.
The whistleblower will receive approximately $250,000 of the government's recovery.
Originally filed in July 2010, the United States alleged that DFine used customer surveys known as User Preference Evaluations (UPE) as vehicles to pay participating physicians illegal kickbacks to induce them to use the company’s vertebral augmentation devices. Although DFine ostensibly collected product information from participating physicians, each UPE survey required use of a new DFine device in a patient, the majority of whom were Medicare beneficiaries. In each case, DFine paid physicians up to $500 per patient to participate in the survey. The government alleges that DFine provided improper remuneration in the form of travel expenses, lavish dinners, entertainment and promotional speaker fees to doctors located in Chicago and Little Rock, Ark. The United States further alleges that DFine solicited physicians to convert their business from a competitor’s product and/or persuade the physicians to continue using DFine products.
According to the United States, DFine’s alleged conduct violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. Among other things, that law prohibits offering or paying remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid or other federally-funded programs.If you or someone you know experienced a similar situation or any other wrongdoing within a corporation you should contact mail@whistleonfraud.com
