pfizer nailed for 2.3 BILLION

[Guest guest]

Interesting. So where is the part about someone going to jail for

criminal fraud on a massive scale?

In a message dated 9/2/2009 11:11:17 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

ntefusa@... writes:

“Today’s landmark settlement is an example of the Department of Justice’s

ongoing and intensive efforts to protect the American public and recover

funds for the federal treasury and the public from those who seek to earn a

profit through fraud. It shows one of the many ways in which federal

government, in partnership with its state and local allies, can help the

American people at a time when budgets are tight20and health care costs are

increasing,†said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli. “This

settlement is

a testament to the type of broad, coordinated effort among federal agencies

and with our state and local partners that is at the core of the

Department of Justice’s approach to law enforcement.â€

Sharon Noonan Kramer

[Guest guest]

Could be. But they would have to investigate themselves from when under

the control of Atty Gen. Alberto . They used the ACOEM Mold

Statement and VeriTox principals as expert defense witnesses to defeat claims

of

illness in our soilders' families - when made ill from mold in military

housing. The DOJ paid VeriTox approx $800K in expert defense witness fees from

2004 to 2007. Nice, eh?

Here is a video of VeriTox Pres, Kelman, under oath, discussing their work

for the DOJ . I have the " science " reports they provided to the DOJ when

defeating claims of mold illness in military children.

_http://www.blip.tv/dashboard/episode/1185861_

(http://www.blip.tv/dashboard/episode/1185861)

In a message dated 9/2/2009 12:44:25 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

brianc8452@... writes:

This is great news! Maybe there is hope that the new Justice Department

will investigate the corruption in the insurance industry.

[Guest guest]

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Contact: ASG: (202) 514-2007

TDD: (202) 514-1888

Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in its History

Pfizer To Pay $2.3 Billion For Fraudulent Marketing

WASHINGTON – American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary

Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. (hereinafter together “Pfizerâ€) have agreed

to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of

the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from

the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department

announced today.

Pharmacia & Upjohn Company has agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of

the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for misbranding Bextra with the intent to

defraud or mislead.  Bextra is an anti-inflammatory drug that Pfizer pulled

from the market in 2005.  Under the provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic

Act, a company must specify the intended uses of a product in its new drug

application to FDA.  Once approved, the drug may not be marketed or promoted

for so-called “off-label†uses – i.e., any use not specified in an

application and approved by FDA.  Pfizer promoted the sale of Bextra for

several uses and dosages that the FDA specifically declined to approve due to

safety concerns.  The company will pay a criminal fine of $1.195 billion, the

largest criminal fine ever imposed in the United

States for any matter.  Pharmacia & Upjohn will also forfeit $105 million, for

a total criminal resolution of $1.3 billion.

In addition, Pfizer has agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve allegations under

the civil False Claims Act that the company illegally promoted four drugs –

Bextra; Geodon, an anti-psychotic drug; Zyvox, an antibiotic; and Lyrica, an

anti-epileptic drug – and caused false claims to be submitted to government

health care programs for uses that were not medically accepted indications and

therefore not covered by those programs.  The civil settlement also resolves

allegations that Pfizer paid kickbacks to health care providers to induce them

to prescribe these, as well as other, drugs.  The federal share of the civil

settlement is $668,514,830 and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement

is $331,485,170.  This is the largest civil fraud settlement in history against

a pharmaceutical company.

As part of the settlement, Pfizer also has agreed to enter into an expansive

corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the

Department of Health and Human Services.  That agreement provides for

procedures and reviews to be put in place to avoid and promptly detect conduct

similar to that which gave rise to this matter.

Whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims

Act that are pending in the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Kentucky triggered this investigatio

n.  As a part of today’s resolution, six whistleblowers will receive payments

totaling more than $102 million from the federal share of the civil recovery.

The U.S. Attorney’s offices for the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern

District of Pennsylvania, and the Eastern District of Kentucky, and the Civil

Division of the Department of Justice handled these cases.  The U.S.

Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts led the criminal

investigation of Bextra.  The investigation was conducted by the Office of

Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the

FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Office of Criminal

Investigations for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Veterans’

Administration’s (VA) Office of Criminal Investigations, the Office of the

Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office of

the Inspector General for the United States Postal Service (USPS), the National

Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units and the offices of various state

Attorneys General.

“Today’s landmark settlement is an example of the Department of Justice’s

ongoing and intensive efforts to protect the American public and recover funds

for the federal treasury and the public from those who seek to earn a profit

through fraud.  It shows one of the many ways in which federal government, in

partnership with its state and local allies, can help the American people at a

time when budgets are tight20and health care costs are increasing,†said

Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli.  “This settlement is a testament to

the type of broad, coordinated effort among federal agencies and with our state

and local partners that is at the core of the Department of Justice’s approach

to law enforcement.â€Â 

“This historic settlement will return nearly $1 billion to Medicare, Medicaid,

and other government insurance programs, securing their future for the Americans

who depend on these programs,†said Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Department

of Health and Human Services. “The Department of Health and Human Services

will continue to seek opportunities to work with its government partners to

prosecute fraud wherever we can find it.  But we will also look for new ways to

prevent fraud before it happens.  Health care is too important to let a single

dollar go to waste.â€

“Illegal conduct and fraud by pharmaceutical companies puts the public health

at risk, corrupts medical decisions by health care providers, and costs the

government billions of dollars,†said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General

for the Civil Division. “This civil settlement and plea agreement by Pfizer

represent yet another example of what penalties will be faced when a

pharmaceutical company puts profits ahead of patient welfare.â€

“The size and seriousness of this resolution, including the huge criminal fine

of $1.3 billion, reflect the seriousness and scope of Pfizer’s

crimes,†said Mike Loucks, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of

Massachusetts.  “Pfizer violated the law over an extensive time period. 

Furthermore, at the very same time Pfizer was in our office negotiating and

resolving the allegations of criminal conduct by its then newly acquired

subsidiary, Warner-Lambert, Pfizer was itself in its other operations violating

those very same laws.  Today’s enormous fine demonstrates that such blatant

and continued disregard of the law will not be tolerated.â€

“Although these types of investigations are often long and complicated and

require many resources to achieve positive results, the FBI will not be deterred

from continuing to ensure that pharmaceutical companies conduct business in a

lawful manner,†said Perkins, FBI Assistant Director, Criminal

Investigative Division.

“This resolution protects the FDA in its vital mission of ensuring that drugs

are safe and effective.  When manufacturers undermine the FDA’s rules, they

interfere with a doctor’s judgment and can put patient health at risk,â€

commented L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania.  “The public trusts companies to market their drugs for uses

that FDA has approved, and trusts that doctors are using independent judgment. 

Federal health dollars should only be spent on treatment decisions untainted by

misinformation from manufacturers concerned with the bottom line.â€

“This settlement demonstrates the ongoing=2

0efforts to pursue violations of the False Claims Act and recover taxpayer

dollars for the Medicare and Medicaid programs,†noted Jim Zerhusen, U.S.

Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.  

“This historic settlement emphasizes the government’s commitment to

corporate and individual accountability and to transparency throughout the

pharmaceutical industry,†said R. Levinson, Inspector General of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services. “The corporate

integrity agreement requires senior Pfizer executives and board members to

complete annual compliance certifications and opens Pfizer to more public

scrutiny by requiring it to make detailed disclosures on its Web site.  We

expect this agreement to increase integrity in the marketing of

pharmaceuticals.â€

“The off-label promotion of pharmaceutical drugs by Pfizer significantly

impacted the integrity of TRICARE, the Department of Defense’s healthcare

system,†said Sharon Woods, Director, Defense Criminal Investigative

Service.  “This illegal activity increases patients’ costs, threatens their

safety and negatively affects the delivery of healthcare services to the over

nine million military members, retirees and their families who rely on this

system.  Today’s charges and settlement demonstrate the ongoing commitment of

the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and its law enforcement partners to

investigate and prosecute those that abuse the government’s healthcare

programs at the expense of the

taxpayers and patients.â€

“Federal employees deserve health care providers and suppliers, including drug

manufacturers, that meet the highest standards of ethical and professional

behavior,†said E. McFarland, Inspector General of the U.S. Office of

Personnel Management.  “Today’s settlement reminds the pharmaceutical

industry that it must observe those standards and reflects the commitment of

federal law enforcement organizations to pursue improper and illegal conduct

that places health care consumers at risk.â€

“Health care fraud has a significant financial impact on the Postal Service. 

This case alone impacted more than 10,000 postal employees on workers’

compensation who were treated with these drugs,†said ph Finn, Special

Agent in Charge for the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. “Last

year the Postal Service paid more than $1 billion in workers’ compensation

benefits to postal employees injured on the job.â€

###

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are

available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last revised: September 02, 2009

[Guest guest]

This is great news! Maybe there is hope that the new Justice Department will

investigate the corruption in the insurance industry.

________________________________

From: " ntefusa@... " <ntefusa@...>

; csda ;

cs-exchange@...; cehmo

Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 9:28:11 AM

Subject: [] pfizer nailed for 2.3 BILLION

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Contact: ASG: (202) 514-2007

TDD: (202) 514-1888

Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in its History

Pfizer To Pay $2.3 Billion For Fraudulent Marketing