Mark Kistler and Michael Brady of the law firm Brady & Associates represented whistleblower Jeremy Novak in a case involving a medical equipment supplier overcharging federal health care programs.
O’Connor Medical Supply, Inc. and its owner, James O’Connor, have agreed to pay the United States $898,523.08 to settle claims that they defrauded federally-funded medical insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid. For his efforts in providing information to root out the relevant fraud against United States’ taxpayers, Mr. Novak has been awarded 25 percent of the proceeds of the settlement, $225,630.77
James O’Connor has owned and operated O’Connor Medical Supply, a See the Trainer franchise in Iowa, providing orthopedic medical equipment to patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
The whistleblower, Jeremy Novak, referred to as a “Relator” under the federal False Claims Act, filed a lawsuit on December 21, 2015 alleging that O’Connor Medical Supply, acting through James O’Connor, had defrauded the United States. Specifically, Mr. Novak alleged that the Defendants had caused federally-funded medical insurance programs to overpay for orthopedic medical equipment by charging for more complex models of medical equipment than those that had actually been provided. The Relator, Mr. Novak, was represented by attorneys Mark Kistler and Michael Brady of the law firm Brady & Associates.
After the Relator filed the lawsuit, attorneys for the United States Department of Justice investigated the matter and intervened in the case. Pursuant to the terms of a recently finalized settlement agreement, O’Connor Medical Supply and James O’Connor have agreed to pay the United States $898,523.08.
The federal False Claims Act provides incentives for private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the United States and any of its agencies to come forward. Such whistleblower lawsuits must be filed “under seal” to allow the United States Department of Justice an opportunity to investigate prior to any public disclosure of the lawsuit. The False Claims Act provides for the United States to recover up to three times the amount of false or fraudulent claims, plus substantial penalties. If the United States Department of Justice intervenes in the case, the False Claims Act generally provides for the Relator(s) to be awarded a share of between 15 percent and 25 percent of the United States’ recovery.
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Mr. Novak has been awarded the maximum allowable share of 25 percent of the proceeds of the settlement with O’Connor Medical Supply and James O’Connor, which is $225,630.77. The Relator’s legal counsel in this matter, Mark Kistler and Michael Brady, can be contacted at Brady & Associates by phone, 913-696-0925.
