The Qui Tam Blog

Last Wednesday, the Justice Department held a conference to announce Pfizer’s off-label criminal and civil settlement for its fraudulent marketing practices.

Pfizer’s subsidiaries will plead guilty to a felony violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for misbranding with the intent to defraud or mislead. It will pay a criminal fine of $1.195 billion and forfeit $105 million, bringing the total criminal settlement to $1.3 billion.

The civil settlement of $1 billion will resolve claims under the False Claims Act that Pfizer illegally promoted four of drugs (most notably the anti-inflammatory drug Bextra), caused false claims to be submitted to government healthcare programs for indications other than those approved by the FDA, and provided kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe these drugs.

Pfizer has also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services that will subject the company’s marketing practices to additional review procedures and safeguards to help avoid and promptly detect similarly offending conduct. For example, Pfizer’s executives will need to complete annual compliance certifications and the company will be required to make detailed disclosures on its website.

The settlement is notable enough for its sheer magnitude: it is the largest in the Department of Justice’s history; it also represents the largest criminal fine imposed ever in the United States for any matter.

But the story behind the story is also interesting. The settlement itself was already announced–and largely completed–by the Bush administration. But whereas the Bush administration was less likely to tout its strikes against big pharmaceutical companies, the Obama administration is happy to take the credit. This certainly signals a bleak future for the drug companies. The administration appears poised to go after these cases with more gusto, especially as it faces criticism for the high cost of Obama’s healthcare proposals.

In January, Eli Lilly and Company settled similar claims over its marketing of Zyprexa for $800 million. The success of that case can be traced directly to courageous stands taken by employee whistleblowers.

The six whistleblowers in the Pfizer case will share some $102 million of the federal portion of the civil recovery. As employee whistleblowers continue to work with the current administration, we can expect to see more of these announcements in the coming months.

Learn more about the Justice Department Conference
Learn more about Pfizer’s Corporate Identity Agreement
Learn more about Eli Lilly and Company’s Zyprexa case

Do you know about fraud committed against the Federal or State government? It may be time to call a whistleblower attorney to represent you in court. This article will help you understand the basis for and method of filing a Qui Tam lawsuit or what is better known as a ”Whistleblower” lawsuit against a corporation or medical practice that is defrauding the government.

The False Claims Act (FCA) was originally passed during the Civil War, but was amended in 1986 and gives citizens a potential monetary reward for reporting fraud. Typically, the individual who has reported the fraud is an employee or former employee of the corporation in question. This individual, known as the “relator,” is the whistleblower.

Once the “whistle is blown” as it were, the Department of Justice will review the case and decide whether or not it wants to intervene. Since the 1986 amendments, whistleblower attorneys have been able to recover over $12 Billion.

You will want to contact a whistleblower attorney for healthcare fraud (Medicare, Medicaid, drug corporation) or other government contracting frauds. A good attorney can represent your case and help you learn the details of being a relator in the case.

Turning a corporation in for fraud does not need to be a daunting process with the help of an experienced whistleblower attorney. It can be financially beneficial to you as the relator, and is also of beneficial to your country. If you suspect fraud and are interested in filing a claim, don’t hesitate to contact a whistleblower attorney.

Federal False Claims Act and Qui Tam Actions
Law Journal Press Webinar
By: Joel M. Androphy, Sarah Frazier and Rachel Grier

View Presentation (.ppt)