CA HOSPITAL TO PAY OVER $3.2 MILLION TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS RELATED TO PHYSICIAN SELF-REFERRAL LAW VIOLATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, January 15, 2016

California Hospital to Pay More Than $3.2 Million to Settle Allegations That It Violated the Physician Self-Referral Law

Tri-City Medical Center, a hospital located in Oceanside, California, has agreed to pay $3,278,464 to resolve allegations that it violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act by maintaining financial arrangements with community-based physicians and physician groups that violated the Medicare program’s prohibition on financial relationships between hospitals and referring physicians, the Justice Department announced today.

The Stark Law generally forbids a hospital from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians who have a financial relationship with the hospital unless that relationship falls within an enumerated exception.  The exceptions generally require, among other things, that the financial arrangements do not exceed fair market value, do not take into account the volume or value of any referrals and are commercially reasonable.  In addition, arrangements with physicians who are not hospital employees must be set out in writing and satisfy a number of other requirements.

“The settlement of this matter reflects not only our commitment to protect the integrity of the healthcare system through enforcement of the Stark Law, but also our willingness to work with providers who disclose their own misconduct,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Tri-City Medical Center maintained 97 financial arrangements with physicians and physician groups that did not comply with the Stark Law.  The hospital identified five arrangements with its former chief of staff from 2008 until 2011 that, in the aggregate, appeared not to be commercially reasonable or for fair market value.  The hospital also identified 92 financial arrangements with community-based physicians and practice groups that did not satisfy an exception to the Stark Law from 2009 until 2010 because, among other things, the written agreements were expired, missing signatures or could not be located.

“Patient referrals should be based on a physician’s medical judgment and a patient’s medical needs, not on a physician’s financial interests or a hospital’s business goals,” said U. S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California.  “This settlement reinforces that hospitals will face consequences when they enter into financial arrangements with physicians that do not comply with the law. We will continue to hold health care providers accountable when they shirk their legal responsibilities to the detriment of tax payer-funded health care programs.”

“Together with our law enforcement partners, our agency’s investigators and attorneys will continue to work with health care providers who use the self-disclosure protocol to resolve their billing misconduct,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Los Angeles region.”

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.1 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.1 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

This matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California, the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and HHS-OIG.  The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

SWISS BANK ADMITS HIDING BILLIONS IN OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Criminal Charges Filed Against Bank Julius Baer of Switzerland with Deferred Prosecution Agreement Requiring Payment of $547 Million, as Well as Guilty Pleas of Two Julius Baer Bankers

Bank Admits to Helping U.S. Taxpayer-Clients Hide Billions of Dollars in Offshore Accounts

Bankers Daniela Casadei and Fabio Frazzetto, Fugitives Since 2011, Surrender and Plead Guilty to Felony Tax Charges

Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York, and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, (IRS-CI), announced the filing of criminal charges against Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (Julius Baer or the company), a financial institution headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.   Julius Baer is charged with conspiring with many of its U.S. taxpayer-clients and others to help U.S. taxpayers hide billions of dollars in offshore accounts from the IRS and to evade U.S. taxes on the income earned in those accounts.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Bharara also announced a deferred prosecution agreement with Julius Baer (the agreement) under which the company admits that it knowingly assisted many of its U.S. taxpayer-clients in evading their tax obligations under U.S. law.  The admissions are contained in a detailed Statement of Facts attached to the agreement.  The agreement requires Julius Baer to pay a total of $547 million by no later than Feb. 9, 2016, including through a parallel civil forfeiture action also filed today in the Southern District of New York.            

The criminal charge is contained in an Information (the information) alleging one count of conspiracy to (1) defraud the IRS, (2) to file false federal income tax returns and (3) to evade federal income taxes.  If Julius Baer abides by all of the terms of the agreement, the government will defer prosecution on the Information for three years and then seek to dismiss the charges.

In addition, two Julius Baer client advisers, Daniela Casadei and Fabio Frazzetto, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court today.   Casadei and Frazzetto were originally charged in 2011 and remained at large until Feb. 1, when they each made initial appearances before the Honorable Gabriel W. Gorenstein, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Casadei and Frazzetto each pleaded guilty to an Information (collectively, with the Julius Baer information, the informations) before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain charging them with conspiring with U.S. taxpayer-clients and others to help U.S. taxpayers hide their assets in offshore accounts and to evade U.S. taxes on the income earned in those accounts.

“Today’s resolution with Bank Julius Baer and the guilty pleas entered by two bank employees reflect the department’s continued commitment to hold accountable those financial institutions who conspired with U.S. taxpayers to conceal assets abroad and evade U.S. tax obligations, as well as those individuals responsible for such crimes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “The deferred prosecution agreement filed today makes it clear that there is a heavy price to pay for this conduct, and that there is a significant benefit in fully cooperating with the department.”

“Bank Julius Baer not only turned a blind eye to tax avoiders, but actually conspired with them to break the law,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “Together with our partners at the IRS, we will continue to prosecute financial institutions and individuals who facilitate tax evasion.”

“In taking responsibility for their actions, Bank Julius Baer has agreed to cooperate and pay a substantial penalty for their role in circumventing offshore disclosure laws, said IRS-CI Chief Weber.  “The agreement – as well as the guilty pleas of client advisors Daniela Casadei and Fabio Frazzetto – sends a strong message to the international banking community as well as U.S. taxpayers who think they can outsmart the system by hiding their money in these international banks.  The consequences of not reporting your foreign accounts and paying the taxes you owe will be significant for those who do not heed the warnings that agreements like this yield.”

According to the informations, statements made during the proceedings today and other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, including the statement of facts to the agreement:

The Offense Conduct

From at least the 1990s through 2009, Julius Baer helped many of its U.S. taxpayer-clients evade their U.S. tax obligations, file false federal tax returns with the IRS and otherwise hide accounts held at Julius Baer from the IRS (hereinafter, undeclared accounts).  Julius Baer did so by opening and maintaining undeclared accounts for U.S. taxpayers and by allowing third-party asset managers to open undeclared accounts for U.S. taxpayers at Julius Baer.  Casadei and Frazzetto, bankers who worked as client advisers at Julius Baer, directly assisted various U.S. taxpayer-clients in maintaining undeclared accounts at Julius Baer in order to evade their obligations under U.S.  law.  At various times, Casadei, Frazzetto and others advised those U.S. taxpayer-clients that their accounts at Julius Baer would not be disclosed to the IRS because Julius Baer had a long tradition of bank secrecy and no longer had offices in the United States, making Julius Baer less vulnerable to pressure from U.S. law enforcement authorities than other Swiss banks with a presence in the United States.  

In furtherance of the scheme to help U.S. taxpayers hide assets from the IRS and evade taxes, Julius Baer undertook, among other actions, the following:

Entering into “code word agreements” with U.S. taxpayer-clients under which Julius Baer agreed not to identify the U.S. taxpayers by name within the bank or on bank documents, but rather to identify the U.S. taxpayers by code name or number, in order to reduce the risk that U.S. tax authorities would learn the identities of the U.S. taxpayers.

Opening and maintaining accounts for many U.S. taxpayer-clients held in the name of non-U.S. corporations, foundations, trusts, or other legal entities (collectively, structures) or non-U.S. relatives, thereby helping such U.S. taxpayers conceal their beneficial ownership of the accounts.
Julius Baer was aware that many U.S. taxpayer-clients were maintaining undeclared accounts at Julius Baer in order to evade their U.S. tax obligations, in violation of U.S. law.  In internal Julius Baer correspondence, undeclared accounts held by U.S. taxpayers were at times referred to as “black money,” “non W-9,” “tax neutral,” “unofficial,” or “sensitive” accounts.

Julius Baer also advised its bankers to take certain steps to avoid scrutiny from U.S. authorities when travelling to the United States, as well as steps to avoid U.S. law enforcement identifying Julius Baer clients.  In a memo entitled “U.S. Clients Do’s & Don’ts,” circulated internally in 2006, a Julius Baer employee provided client advisers with advice regarding travel to the United States, including:

“At Immigration . . . When asked by Officer what will you do while in the USA, say Business and of course some leisure, trying to take some time to enjoy your beautiful country. Proud government employees usually love this type of statement.One can throw in skydiving or another fun sport/activity.This tends to shift the questioning away from the business purpose to the ‘fun time’ part of the trip (carrying a tennis racket also puts the emphasis on “fun and games,” and not on business).”

In regard to communicating while in the U.S.:“Only use mobile phone[s] registered in and operating from Switzerland.Avoid phone calls from hotel to clients.It is recommended to purchase a telephone calling card from the post office, grocery stores, or electronic shops.This allows you to use practically any phone with no specific link left behind.The best is to pay for the calling card in cash.For ex: a 400 minutes local calling card costs less than $50, but the rates can vary.Most cards can also be used to call anywhere abroad.”

At its high-water mark in 2007, Julius Baer had approximately $4.7 billion in assets under management relating to approximately 2,589 undeclared accounts held by U.S. taxpayer-clients.  From 2001 through 2011, Julius Baer earned approximately $87 million in profit on approximately $219 million gross revenues from its undeclared U.S. taxpayer accounts, including accounts held through structures.

Julius Baer’s Blocked Effort to Self-Report, Acceptance of Responsibility, and Cooperation in the Government Investigation

Notwithstanding its lucrative criminal conduct, by at least 2008, Julius Baer began to implement institutional policy changes to cease providing assistance to U.S. taxpayers in violating their U.S. legal obligations.  For example, by November 2008, the company began an “exit” plan for U.S. client accounts that lacked evidence of U.S. tax compliance.  In that same month, Julius Baer imposed a prohibition on opening accounts for any U.S. clients without a Form W-9.

Additionally, in November 2009, before Julius Baer became aware of any U.S. investigation into its conduct, Julius Baer decided proactively to approach U.S. law enforcement authorities regarding its conduct relating to U.S. taxpayers.  Prior to self-reporting to the Department of Justice, Julius Baer notified its regulator in Switzerland of its intention to contact U.S. law enforcement authorities.  This Swiss regulator requested that Julius Baer not contact U.S. authorities in order not to prejudice the Swiss government in any bilateral negotiations with the United States on tax-related matters.  Accordingly, Julius Baer did not, at that time, self-report to U.S. law enforcement authorities.

After ultimately engaging with U.S. authorities, Julius Baer has taken exemplary actions to demonstrate acceptance and acknowledgement of responsibility for its conduct.  Julius Baer conducted a swift and robust internal investigation, and furnished the U.S. government with a continuous flow of unvarnished facts gathered during the course of that internal investigation.  As part of its cooperation, Julius Baer also, among other things, (1) successfully advocated in favor of a decision provided by the Swiss Federal Council in April 2012 to allow banks under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice to legally produce employee and third-party information to the department, and subsequently produced such information immediately upon issuance of that decision; and (2) encouraged certain employees, including specifically Frazzetto and Casadei, to accept responsibility for their participation in the conduct at issue and cooperate with the ongoing investigation.    

*                *                *

Casadei, 52, a Swiss citizen, and Frazzetto, 42, an Italian and Swiss citizen, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, to evade federal income taxes and to file false federal income tax returns.  Casadei and Frazzetto each face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentences imposed on the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Casadei and Frazzetto are each scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Swain on Aug. 12, 2016.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of IRS-CI and the Department’s Tax Division for their significant assistance in the investigation.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for their assistance with the case.

This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason H. Cowley and Sarah E. Paul are in charge of the prosecution.

NURSING HOME THERAPY PROVIDER AGREES TO PAY $125 MILLION TO RESOLVE ALLEGATIONS OF FALSE CLAIMS ACT VIOLATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Nation’s Largest Nursing Home Therapy Provider, Kindred/Rehabcare, to Pay $125 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Four Nursing Homes Using Kindred/RehabCare to Pay an Additional $8.225 Million

Contract therapy providers RehabCare Group Inc., RehabCare Group East Inc. and their parent, Kindred Healthcare Inc., have agreed to pay $125 million to resolve a government lawsuit alleging that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly causing skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to submit false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable, necessary and skilled, or that never occurred, the Department of Justice announced today.

RehabCare Group Inc. and RehabCare Group East Inc. were purchased by the Louisville, Kentucky-based Kindred Healthcare Inc. in 2011 and they now operate under the name RehabCare as a division of Kindred.  RehabCare is the largest provider of therapy in the nation, contracting with more than 1,000 SNFs in 44 states to provide rehabilitation therapy to their patients.

“Medicare beneficiaries are entitled to receive care that is dictated by their clinical needs rather than the fiscal interests of healthcare providers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “All providers, whether contractors or direct billers of taxpayer-funded federal healthcare programs, will be held accountable when their actions cause false claims for unnecessary services.”

The government’s complaint alleged that RehabCare’s policies and practices, including setting unrealistic financial goals and scheduling therapy to achieve the highest reimbursement level regardless of the clinical needs of its patients, resulted in Rehabcare providing unreasonable and unnecessary services to Medicare patients and led its SNF customers to submit artificially and improperly inflated bills to Medicare that included those services.  Specifically, the government’s complaint alleged that RehabCare’s schemes included the following:

Presumptively placing patients in the highest therapy reimbursement level, rather than relying on individualized evaluations to determine the level of care most suitable for each patient’s clinical needs;
During the period prior to Oct. 1, 2011, boosting the amount of reported therapy during “assessment reference periods,” thereby causing and enabling SNFs to bill for the care of their Medicare patients at the highest therapy reimbursement level, while providing materially less therapy to those same patients outside the assessment reference periods, when the SNFs were not required to report to Medicare the amount of therapy RehabCare was providing to their patients (a practice known as “ramping”);
Scheduling and reporting the provision of therapy to patients even after the patients’ treating therapists had recommended that they be discharged from therapy;
Arbitrarily shifting the number of minutes of planned therapy among different therapy disciplines (i.e., physical, occupational and speech therapy) to ensure targeted therapy reimbursement levels were achieved, regardless of the clinical need for the therapy;
Especially after Oct. 1, 2011 and continuing through Sept. 30, 2013, providing significantly higher amounts of therapy at the very end of a therapy measurement period not due to medical necessity but rather to reach the minimum time threshold for the highest therapy reimbursement level, to enable SNFs to bill for the care of their Medicare patients accordingly, even though the patients were receiving materially less therapy on preceding days;
Inflating initial reimbursement levels by reporting time spent on initial evaluations as therapy time rather than evaluation time;
Reporting that skilled therapy had been provided to patients when in fact the patients were asleep or otherwise unable to undergo or benefit from skilled therapy (e.g., when a patient had been transitioned to palliative end-of-life care); and
Reporting estimated or rounded minutes instead of reporting the actual minutes of therapy provided.
“This False Claim Act settlement addresses allegations that RehabCare and its nursing facility customers engaged in a systematic and broad-ranging scheme to increase profits by delivering, or purporting to deliver, therapy in a manner that was focused on increasing Medicare reimbursement rather than on the clinical needs of patients,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts.  “The complaint outlines the extent and sophistication of this fraud, and the government’s continuing work to ensure that the provision of care in skilled nursing facilities is based on patients’ clinical needs.”

“Health providers seeking to increase Medicare profits, rather than providing suitable, high-quality care, will be investigated and prosecuted,” said Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  “Under our robust compliance agreement, an outside review organization will scrutinize a random sample of medical records annually to assess the medical necessity and reasonableness of therapy services provided by RehabCare.”

In addition to RehabCare, the Department of Justice also announced settlements today with four SNFs for their role in submitting claims to Medicare that were false because they were based in part on therapy provided by RehabCare that was not reasonable, necessary and skilled, or that did not occur.  These settlements include:  A $3.9 million settlement with Wingate Healthcare Inc. and 16 of its facilities in Massachusetts and New York; A $2.2 million settlement with THI of Pennsylvania at Broomall LLC and THI of Texas at Fort Worth LLC; A $1.375 million settlement with Essex Group Management and two of its Massachusetts facilities, Brandon Woods of Dartmouth and Blaire House of Milford and a $750,000 settlement with Frederick County, Maryland, which formerly operated the Citizens Care skilled nursing facility.  The department had previously reached settlements with a number of other SNFs for similar conduct.  See http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-companies-pay-375-million-allegedly-causing-submission-claims-unreasonable-or-unnecessary; http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/episcopal-ministries-aging-inc-pay-13-million-allegedly-causing-submission-claims; http://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/new-york-catholic-nursing-chain-pay-35-million-resolve-allegations-concerning-claims; http://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/maine-nursing-home-pay-12-million-resolve-allegations-concerning-rehabilitation-therapy.

The settlement with RehabCare resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Janet Halpin, a physical therapist and former rehabilitation manager for RehabCare and Shawn Fahey, an occupational therapist who worked for RehabCare.  The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery.  The government may intervene and file its own complaint in such a lawsuit, as it has done in this case.  The whistleblowers will receive nearly $24 million as their share of the recovery from RehabCare.

The settlements announced today illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.1 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.1 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, including the conduct described in the United States’ complaint, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; HHS Office of Inspector General and the FBI.

WISCONSIN FIRM PLEADS GUILTY TO RESOLVE CLAIMS INVOLVING IMPROPER USE OF FOREIGN MADE MATERIALS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Wisconsin Architectural Firm to Plead Guilty and Pay $3 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Claims

The Department of Justice announced today that Wisconsin-based Novum Structures LLC (Novum) has agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay $3 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from its improper use of foreign materials on construction projects involving federal funds.  This use was in violation of contractual provisions implementing various domestic preference statutes, often referred to colloquially as the “Buy America” requirements.  Novum specializes in the design and construction of glass space frames often used in roofs and atrium enclosures.

The agreement announced today resolves a criminal Information alleging that Novum repackaged materials and falsified documents relating to some federally funded construction projects in order to hide that it was using noncompliant foreign materials.  According to an agreement reached with the government, Novum will plead guilty to one count of concealing a material fact, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and pay a $500,000 criminal fine.

“When taxpayer dollars are provided for construction projects, the government expects contractors to comply with all requirements, including ones that ensure the money remains in the U.S. economy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “This settlement shows that the Department of Justice is committed to pursuing claims against contractors that put financial gain ahead of complying with the law.”

“Domestic preference statutes are designed to promote American businesses and to protect U.S. economic interests,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.  “When companies subvert those interests by violating ‘Buy American’ provisions – and when they undertake efforts to conceal that they have done so – all in an effort to improperly advance their own private financial interests, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will pursue all appropriate criminal and civil sanctions.”

In addition to the criminal fine, Novum has agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve civil allegations under the False Claims Act that its conduct caused the submission of false claims for payment.  Specifically, the civil settlement resolves allegations that Novum caused false claims by knowingly – and in violation of its contractual obligations – using noncompliant foreign materials on several federally funded construction projects from Jan. 1, 2004 through July 11, 2013.

Construction projects funded by the U.S. government are generally subject to laws requiring the use of domestic materials, such as the Buy American Act; the Federal Transit Administration’s Buy America provision; and § 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The contracts involved in this case covered both government buildings and transit projects partially paid for with federal funds.

As part of the settlement agreement, Novum has agreed not to contest debarment from federally funded projects.

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx stated, “The U.S. Department of Transportation considers compliance with Buy America to be a fundamental requirement when a company is involved in federal projects.  As we work to be good stewards of limited federal resources, the department applauds the Department of Justice and our own Office of Inspector General for the successful prosecution of this case.”

“Contractors must follow all federal contracting rules when doing business with the United States,” said General Services Administration Inspector General Carol Fortine Ochoa.

“The settlement agreement entered into by Novum Structures LLC is a positive step following the company’s disregard of its obligations to comply with the clear legal requirements of the Buy America Act designed to spur domestic economic investments and job opportunities in transportation infrastructure projects,” said Regional Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ullom Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General.  

The allegations resolved by the civil settlement were originally brought by whistleblower Brenda King under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act.  The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government those who falsely claim federal funds.  The act also allows the whistleblower to receive a share of any funds recovered through the lawsuit.  King will receive approximately $400,000 as her share of the civil settlement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin prosecuted the criminal case, and also jointly handled the civil lawsuit with the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch.  Investigative assistance was provided by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, the General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with additional support from other agencies.

The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. King v. Novum Structures, LLC, Case No. 12-cv-860 (E.D. Wis.).  The claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability except to the extent admitted in Novum’s plea agreement.

FEDERAL COURT ORDERS STONE IMPORTER TO PAY PAYROLL TAXES AS THEY BECOME DUE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT  

Monday, January 4, 2016

Court Permanently Enjoins Baltimore-Area Importer of Stone From Accruing Payroll Tax Liabilities

A federal court has ordered a Baltimore-area importer of marble and granite to pay its payroll taxes as they become due, the Justice Department announced today.  Judge Ellen L. Hollander of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland entered a permanent injunction requiring Alexander Stone Inc. d/b/a MMG Marble & Granite and its owners, Soultana Efthimiadis and Kyriakos Efthimiadis, to pay their federal payroll tax liabilities as they became due and owing.

According to the United States’ complaint, Alexander Stone has repeatedly failed to make timely and adequate federal employment tax deposits since 2008 and has amassed substantial employment tax liabilities.  The defendants agreed to entry of the injunction but did not admit or deny the substance of the allegations in the United States’ civil complaint.

Under the terms of the injunction, the business must deposit its payroll taxes and file its employment tax returns on a timely basis.  The defendants are also required to notify the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that the requisite tax deposits have been made and tell the IRS if they begin operating any new business.  The defendants are precluded from assigning property or making any payments to other creditors until the employment tax and withholding liabilities are paid.  The injunction is effective immediately and will ensure that Alexander Stone stays current on its federal employment tax obligations.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Tax Division thanked IRS Field Collection and its revenue officer for investigating and preparing the civil case.

IMPORTER TO PAY $15 MILLION TO SETTLE CASE INVOLVING ALLEGED EVASION OF CUSTOMS DUTIES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, December 21, 2015

Texas-Based Importers Agree to Pay $15 Million to Settle False Claims Act Suit for Alleged Evasion of Customs Duties

The Department of Justice announced today that University Furnishings LP and its general partner, Freedom Furniture Group Inc. (collectively University Furnishings) agreed to pay $15 million to resolve a lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act alleging that the companies made or conspired with others to make false statements to avoid paying duties on wooden bedroom furniture imported from the People’s Republic of China.  Texas-based University Furnishings sells furniture for student housing.

“Those who introduce goods into the United States must comply with the law, including the payment of customs duties meant to protect domestic companies and American workers from unfair competition abroad,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice will zealously pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets by evading the duties owed on goods imported into this country.”

The government alleged that between 2009 and mid-2012, University Furnishings knowingly misclassified or conspired with others to misclassify wooden bedroom furniture on documents presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to avoid paying antidumping duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture manufactured in the People’s Republic of China.  Specifically, University Furnishings allegedly classified the furniture as office and other types of furniture not subject to duties while selling the furniture in the student housing market for use in dormitory bedrooms.  The Department of Commerce assesses and CBP collects antidumping duties to protect U.S. businesses by offsetting unfair foreign pricing and foreign government subsidies.  

“Companies that cheat, by fraudulently mislabeling their imports, undermine U.S. manufacturers and others that obey the rules, and hurt consumers and taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. of the Western District of Texas.  “We are hopeful that today’s settlement will help deter others from this type of scheme.”

The allegations resolved by the settlement were originally brought by University Loft Company under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.  The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the United States those who falsely claim federal funds or, as in this case, those who avoid paying funds owed to the government or cause or conspire in such conduct.  The act also allows the whistleblower to receive a share of any funds recovered through the lawsuit.  University Loft Company will receive $2.25 million as its share of the settlement.

The case was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, CBP’s Office of Field Operations, Office of Regulatory Audit and Office of Chief Counsel; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. University Loft Company v. University Furnishings, LP, et al., No. A13-CV-678 (W.D. Tex.).  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

Labor Department News Releases Update

Labor Department News Releases Update