On February 28, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois announced that skilled therapy provider Brynwood Myofascial Therapy LLC, its current owner, Malgorzata Zasdny, and its former owner, Marla Monge, have agreed to pay about $1.5 million to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act. The settlement stems from a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former employee of Brynwood Myofascial Therapy.
The company is alleged to have “fraudulently billed Medicare for (1) therapy services when the provider was actually out of the country, (2) physical therapy or occupational therapy when the services were performed by massage therapists rather than licensed physical or occupational therapists, (3) services performed by an occupational therapy assistant or physical therapy assistant when they were not properly supervised, (4) therapy services under improper codes to avoid caps on certain services, and (5) occupational and physical therapy when there were no licensed occupational therapist or physical therapist on site.”
The False Claims Act’s qui tam provision incentivizes private citizens and parties to bring a civil lawsuit on behalf of the U.S. by rewarding 15-30% of the settlement from government sanctions. More than $7.3 billion in whistleblower rewards has been paid out under the FCA since 1986. In 2023, qui tam whistleblowers allowed the government to recover $2.3 billion from fraudsters.
On July 25, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the False Claims Amendments Act of 2023, which address a few technical loopholes undermining the success of the FCA. The bill is widely supported by whistleblower advocates.
“The False Claims Act is America’s number one fraud-fighting law,” said whistleblower attorney Stephen M. Kohn. “These amendments are urgently needed to ensure that whistleblowers can continue to play their key role in protecting taxpayers from corporate criminals.”
Kohn sees the passage of the False Claims Amendments Act as one of the seven most urgently needed whistleblower reforms. National Whistleblower Center (NWC), where Kohn serves as Chairman of the Board, has issued an Action Alert calling on Congress to pass the bill.
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Demand that Congress strengthen the False Claims Act
Further Reading:
Rockford Skilled Therapy Provider To Pay $1.5 Million To Settle Federal Health Care Fraud Suit
Bipartisan Legislation Unveiled to Strengthen False Claims Act