A Florida pharmaceutical company and its CEO have agreed to pay over $350,000 to the Florida Medicaid program as part of a multistate settlement resolving allegations of a kickback scheme.
QOL Medical, LLC, and its CEO, Frederick E. Cooper, were accused of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, and state False Claims Act laws by offering incentives to induce the purchase of Sucraid, a therapy for a rare genetic condition.
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“This pharmaceutical manufacturer misled patients on its test kits and caused the submission of false claims to Medicaid,” said Acting Attorney General John Guard. “However, thanks to the superb and diligent work of our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and partners in this case, the company and CEO are paying up now hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The settlement resolves allegations that QOL distributed free breath test kits that did not accurately diagnose the condition Sucraid is intended to treat. The company then used the test results to target potential Sucraid patients, leading to false claims being submitted to Medicaid and other government healthcare programs.
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QOL admitted to the allegations and agreed to pay a total of $350,000 to the Florida Medicaid program as part of the multistate settlement.
The settlement stemmed from a whistleblower lawsuit filed in Massachusetts. A team from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, including representatives from several states, participated in the negotiations.
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