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12/14/2012 9:41:10 AM
Orthofix International NV (OFIX)’s settlement of federal regulators’ claims that the maker of bone repair products defrauded Medicare by paying kickbacks to doctors was rejected for a second time by a judge. U.S. District Judge William G. Young in Boston today rebuffed an Orthofix unit’s offer to plead guilty to a felony count of obstructing an audit and pay a $7.8 million fine after concluding the agreement improperly restricted his sentencing powers. He originally rejected the deal in September. Young said while he has traditionally “gone along” with plea deals, he said he felt accepting the agreement wouldn’t “ensure the public interest.” It’s unclear whether Young’s refusal to accept the plea also scuttles Orthofix’s agreement to pay $34.2 million to resolve civil claims first raised in a whistle-blower’s lawsuit that the company defrauded the federal Medicare program through payments to doctors who used its bone-growth stimulators. Mark Quick, an Orthofix spokesman, didn’t respond before a first call to him was discontinued. He didn’t immediately return a second call seeking comment on Young’s ruling. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Sternberg, representing the government in the case declined to comment after the hearing. Five Orthofix employees have pleaded guilty in connection with the probe, the U.S. Justice Department said. Thomas Guerrieri, a company vice president, pleaded guilty to violating the federal anti-kickback statute by setting up fake consulting agreements for doctors who used the company’s products. Orthofix, based in Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles, said in February that it had reserved $43 million to settle the false-claims allegations. The government joined a whistle-blower suit filed by Jeffrey Bierman, a Missouri businessman who learned about alleged Medicare fraud by Orthofix.
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