Garden State Cardiovascular Specialists P.C. Agrees to Pay $3.6 Million for Allegedly Submitting False Claims to Federal Health Care Programs
In May of this year Garden State Cardiovascular Specialists P.C. agreed to pay more than $3.6 million to resolve allegations that its facilities falsely billed federal health care programs for tests that were not medically necessary. Garden State, a cardiology practice which owns and operates several facilities in New Jersey under the name NJ MedCare/NJ Heart, agreed to this settlement to resolve allegations that were raised in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.
This settlement resolves allegations that Garden State and its principals, Jasjit Walia M.D. and Preet Randhawa M.D., submitted claims to Medicare for various cardiology diagnostic tests and procedures which were not medically necessary. It is important to note that the claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
The Medicare fraud whistleblower that brought this qui tam lawsuit forward, Cheryl Mazurek, is set to receive more than $648,000 in whistleblower rewards as part of the settlement. There are thousands of innocent people working for big government organizations who see fraudulent practices like these firsthand. Stepping forward and blowing the whistle takes courage. If you are thinking of stepping forward and being a Medicare whistleblower or whistleblower of any kind, be sure to do your research so you’re sure to choose a law firm with experience in and a vast knowledge of whistleblower law.
