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An Ohio woman was recently awarded $175K in a federal whistleblower case against her former employer, who was found guilty of fraud against the government.
Fraud Against the Government
Antoinette Menapace worked as a medical billing coder for Premier Medical Group from February to November 2004. During that time, Menapace observed that her boss, Dr. Mohammed Aiti, was ordering unnecessary and expensive medical testing for patients and then billing Medicaid and Medicare.
Menapace left her job when she discovered the fraud and filed a Qui Tam claim in U.S. District Court. However, her claim could not be pursued until the criminal case against the doctor, his wife and Dr. Venkatsan Ravishankar was concluded.
Restitution and Award
Aiti was found guilty of the criminal charges filed against him in January and ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution to the government.
“As a result of the criminal investigation the government was able to seize $1.9 million of Dr. Aiti’s assets. Under the Qui Tam statute, for being a whistleblower our client was awarded a portion of the proceeds for being the whistleblower,” said attorney Beth Raies.
After quitting her job, Menapace was without work for two years and had to give up the home she and her husband lived in for 20 years.
“This whole thing was a great hardship on her and her family,” said Raies.
(Source: Indeonline.com)
Aware of fraud against the government? Contact an attorney near you today to learn if you are eligible to file a Qui Tam claim.
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