Hoyer Law Group, PLLC, is pleased to announce the settlement of a lawsuit brought by whistleblower client Jamie Williams against Advanced Imaging of Port Charlotte (“AI”). Partners Jesse Hoyer Estes and Sean Estes were privileged to represent Ms. Williams in her healthcare fraud case.
Defendant AI provided radiology services in multiple locations across Florida. Ms. Williams, a medical claims collections specialist, worked for the billing company responsible for AI’s submissions to the Medicare and Tricare programs.
In August 2016, she filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that AI was involved in a scheme to defraud government health care programs through improper billing practices.
Ms. Williams alleged that AI billed the Medicare and Tricare programs for services performed by certain doctors knowing they were not properly credentialed by the government healthcare programs. When the government rejected the claims, she alleged that AI resubmitted the claims as if different physicians with proper credentials had performed the work.
After observing these practices firsthand, Ms. Williams bravely risked her career to alert the government by filing a whistleblower complaint under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows private citizens to sue, on the government’s behalf, people or entities that are defrauding the government. The Act offers whistleblowers protection against retaliation and rewards them with a share of the money that the government recovers because of their complaint.
This case is an excellent example of the False Claims Act at its best – the government working hand-in-hand with a dedicated whistleblower not only to save taxpayer money but also to stop a company from taking money meant to help our incredible veterans.
Lead Attorney Jesse Hoyer Estes
Hoyer Law Group is immensely proud of Ms. Williams’ courage and her willingness to step forward on behalf of taxpayers. The firm is also incredibly appreciative of the hard work and dedication shown to the case by Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle Cohen and David Sullivan of the Fort Myers office in the Middle District of Florida.
Hoyer Law Group fights fraud and advocates for whistleblowers and employees nationwide, with offices in Florida, D.C., Michigan, and California.
