Whistleblower TV Lawyer Episode List
Episode 1: Kool Smiles and Bristol – Myers Squibb
Episode 2: Dr. Farid Fata and Marinello School of Beauty
Episode 1: Kool Smiles and Bristol-Myers Squibb
Whistleblowers are the unsung heroes of the legal world. They put their careers, reputations and personal lives on the line to stand up for what’s right. Oftentimes, their legal battles go on for years as corporate defendants do everything in their power to intimidate and shift blame. Even if the case reaches a settlement or verdict and the whistleblower is rewarded with a multimillion-dollar payout, they rarely get any public praise.
A new TV show may change that, however. “Whistleblower,” an eight-episode docu-series, premiered on CBS this summer. Each episode highlights men and women who have successfully filed False Claims Act lawsuits against corporations that have lied, cheated and stolen from taxpayers. By appearing on the show, these whistleblowers have yet again raised their voices to bring attention to this pervasive issue.
In the first episode, we’re introduced to Dr. Michael Greenwald and Dr. Rai, two dentists who saw widespread fraud at pediatric dentistry franchise Kool Smiles. We also meet Mychal Wilson, a former pharmaceutical sales rep who accused Bristol-Myers Squibb of paying kickbacks to California doctors.
Employees Say They Witnessed Medicaid Fraud, Unethical Practices at Kool Smiles
Dr. Greenwald, a dentist with a successful practice in Connecticut, said he joined Kool Smiles because he wanted to do good. The chain specializes in treating children on Medicaid who may not otherwise have access to dental care. Dr. Rai, a young dentist in Texas, was enticed by the promise of a $180,000 salary and the ability to jump start her career without significant experience in the field.
Both whistleblowers quickly realized, however, that their expectations didn’t align with reality. Corporate encouraged dentists to follow aggressive treatment plans, like multiple root canals on baby teeth and fillings throughout a child’s entire mouth. Higher ups justified it by saying that Medicaid patients are slow to seek treatment and dentists were doing patients a favor by taking proactive measures. But Dr. Greenwald said it was all a money grab. Kool Smiles could easily get a $500 Medicaid reimbursement for each child treated in this manner.
Kool Smiles dentists were required to meet high quotas and were given report cards grading them on the number of patients they saw. This was also how their compensation was determined. Dr. Greenwald said it wasn’t unusual for “high achievers” to earn $5,000 or even $10,000 bonuses.
If dentists questioned these practices, they were harassed or fired. Dr. Rai wanted to quit, but it was nearly impossible for her to get out of her employment contract. Employees who quit without proper notice were subjected to a $500 a day penalty and were at risk of being sued by the company.
Whistleblower Dentists Secure $24M Settlement
For Dr. Rai, things finally came to a head when she was fired for refusing to give a cleaning to a child who could barely open his mouth due to stitches from a dog bite. This triggered her decision to file a lawsuit in Texas.
Meanwhile, Dr. Greenwald, who was sick of treating patients like “chicken nuggets getting produced on a conveyor belt,” as he put it, began secretly looking up and saving damning information from Kool Smiles offices across the country. When he decided to file his own lawsuit, he had reams of evidence to add to his case.
Dr. Rai and Dr. Greenwald’s cases were taken over by the Department of Justice and consolidated with suits filed by six other whistleblowers. Typically, the government only takes on the strongest False Claims Act lawsuits. It’s likely that the deciding factors for the Justice Department were Dr. Greenwald’s evidence and the fact that multiple complaints were filed.
It took almost a decade for the case to reach a conclusion. Thankfully, it was a positive one. Although Kool Smiles did not admit any wrongdoing, the company reached a $24 million settlement with the Department of Justice. The two heroes of the episode, Dr. Greenwald and Dr. Rai, split a $4 million reward with the six other qui tam plaintiffs who joined them.
Although not mentioned in the show, the investigation and ultimate settlement also triggered the resignation of Dale G. Mayfield from the Georgia Board of Dentistry. Mayfield happens to be the Chief Dental Officer of Kool Smiles. Amazingly, he was appointed to the Board of Dentistry in the midst of the lawsuit and investigation.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Paid Doctors for Buying Drugs, Says Sales Rep
The second segment of the episode focused on Mychal Wilson, a former pharmaceutical sales rep for Bristol-Myers Squibb. At first, the position seemed to be a great way for Wilson to support himself while trying to break into Hollywood as an actor. However, after a few months on the job he grew concerned about the things management was asking him to do.
Wilson was expected to spend tens of thousands of dollars on gifts for doctors in exchange for their purchasing Bristol-Myers Squibb drugs. He routinely treated “high prescribers” to golf outings, concert tickets, massages, extravagant dinners, Lakers games and even cash payments. Many of these doctors worked at Cedars-Sinai, which is regarded as one of the top hospitals in the country.
Through his position, Wilson had virtually unrestricted access to medical offices. Shockingly, some offices allowed him to view patient charts so he could flag patients who might have benefitted from Bristol-Myers Squibb drugs. BMS encouraged this practice, even when Wilson knew the drugs he was recommending were unnecessary or a competitor’s medication would be more helpful.
Kickback Lawsuit Ends with $515M Settlement
Thanks to an employee benefit program, Wilson entered law school, which he attended in his time off work. Ironically, this program wasn’t so beneficial for Bristol-Myers Squibb in the long run. With his growing knowledge of the law, Wilson began to suspect that his employer was violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. He started copying and saving every document he could get his hands on until he was fired for a minor paperwork issue in September 2004. Before then, he managed to fill his apartment and a storage unit with 40,000 pages.
Two years after being fired, Wilson built up the courage to file a federal lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb alleging fraud and anti-kickback violations. He also filed a second lawsuit under California whistleblower law. Although Wilson knew he was doing the right thing, he said he became so paranoid he began checking under the hood of his car every time he drove.
Surprisingly, the federal lawsuit settled in just a year for $515 million, a portion of which was given to Wilson. The California lawsuit, on the other hand, wasn’t resolved for nine years. That case finally settled for $30 million, with half going to the state of California and the rest to Wilson and other whistleblowers who had joined the case.
My Takeaways
The settlements featured in this episode are significant, and they earned a good amount of media attention. I was familiar with both cases before the episode, but it was interesting to hear directly from the plaintiffs who pushed these cases forward.
It’s clear from the lawsuits highlighted that evidence can make or break a whistleblower lawsuit. In the Kool Smiles case, I’m sure it was helpful that several employees in offices throughout the country corroborated each other’s stories. When it comes to winning a fraud lawsuit, it’s always better when there are multiple witnesses. However, there is no denying the evidence that Dr. Greenwald saved. That was likely the nail in the $24 million coffin. People’s memories can fail them, but documents never forget.
If you suspect fraud or any other illegal behavior in your workplace, start preserving evidence ASAP. Even if you don’t plan on reporting now, having documentation can give you peace of mind and a stronger case if you do decide to come forward. Remember that employers typically have the right to search your workspace and other company property, like work computers and company cars. It may even be legal for employers to search your purse, briefcase or personal cell phone if they believe you’re storing company information in it. If you’re concerned about being caught with evidence, take a note from Wilson and store hard copies of documents in a neutral place, like a storage unit.
The whistleblowers in these cases chose to file reports with the help of lawyers. Although it is possible to alert the federal government to fraud without legal assistance, having an experienced whistleblower attorney to help you significantly increases your chances of a positive outcome, like the ones included in this episode.
If you’re ready to become a whistleblower, you can start by reporting online. Like Dr. Greenwald, Dr. Rai and Mychal Wilson, you could earn a multimillion-dollar reward.
Whistleblower TV – Lawyer Brian Mahany Reviews
Episode 2: Dr. Farid Fata and Marinello School of Beauty
In the second episode of the CBS show “Whistleblower,” we see two of the more egregious fraud cases I’ve ever seen. The first involves a Michigan oncologist who treated patients with chemotherapy even when they didn’t have cancer. The second segment details a beauty school that lied to students to rake in funding from the Department of Education.
Former Employee Says Oncologist Was Giving Patients Chemo When They Didn’t Need It
Meet Dr. Death. Dr. Farid Fata, owner of Michigan Hematology Oncology, was known as a reputable doctor throughout the greater Detroit area. He saw between 70 and 90 patients a day, and his practice quickly grew to seven offices. Today he is serving 45 years in prison for one of the most heinous crimes in Michigan history. His story is one we have covered extensively.
George Karadsheh joined MI Hematology Oncology in 2011 as office manager. He thought it was odd that Dr. Fata had installed numerous cameras and microphones throughout his offices, but it wasn’t until he spoke with Dr. Soe Maunglay, another doctor at the practice, that he began to suspect fraud.
Dr. Maunglay told Karadsheh that he had seen one of Dr. Fata’s patients while he was away on vacation. He was shocked to discover that the patient, who was undergoing chemotherapy for multiple myeloma, didn’t actually have cancer. Karadsheh began an investigation and looked at the practice’s ratio of consultations to treatment. He said that most doctors recommended treatment for three out of every 10 patients they consulted with. Dr. Fata treated nearly 100% of the patients who came to see him.
Dr. Fata Sentenced to Prison for Health Care Fraud
Karadsheh contacted a lawyer who got in touch with the Department of Justice, and the case moved rapidly. Attorneys got a warrant for Dr. Fata’s arrest in five days. He was arrested on August 6, 2013 on his way into work. Then, federal investigators began a massive search of all of Dr. Fata’s offices.
Karadsheh assisted investigators by giving them financial information, medical records and blueprints of every office showing where sensitive information was stored. Ultimately, investigators determined that Dr. Fata had given 553 patients unnecessary treatment over the course of two years. Not only was Dr. Fata fraudulently billing Medicaid and other insurance companies, but he was recommending chemotherapy for patients who didn’t even have cancer! These patients suffered horrible and sometimes irreversible side effects from chemo they didn’t need, all because Dr. Fata wanted to profit off of taxpayer-funded insurance programs.
One year after his arrest, Dr. Fata pleaded guilty to 13 counts of health care fraud. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison and all Michigan Hematology Oncology offices were shut down. Dr. Fata was also ordered to pay $17 million back to the government. As a reward, Karadsheh was given a few hundred thousand dollars from this fund. It was less than the 15% minimum usually given to whistleblowers, but Karadsheh, being the conscientious person he is, wanted a greater share of the money to go to Dr. Fata’s victims.
We have several stories and interviews about Dr. Farid Fata. Use the search feature on our blog and search for “Farid.”
Beauty School Was Defrauding Dept. of Ed., Says Whistleblower
In California, Tess Mercer was fighting a similar battle against a dishonest employer. A lifelong cosmetologist and single mother, Mercer was excited to find work as a campus director at the Marinello School of Beauty. The company, which operated 57 locations in six states, had a 100-year history and a good reputation in the beauty industry. It had recently come under new management and was expanding rapidly.
However, Mercer realized something was wrong on the first day of her new job. The “campus” was just a storefront in a strip mall. The plumbing was shoddy. Teachers were unqualified and students were given subpar tools to learn with.
Even more alarming was the number of students who were drowning in student loan debt. Tuition started at $16,000 and reached $20,000 in just a few years. Students also had to pay registration and monthly fees to stay enrolled. Mercer said that most students had federal loans, but Marinello also offered its own private loans at an outrageous 18% interest rate. Marinello even set up one-day intensives so prospective students could get their GEDs…and therefore become eligible for federal student aid. Mercer said the school deliberately targeted poor students looking for a way out and sold them a dream that didn’t exist.
Mercer reported her concerns to her supervisor, but they encouraged her not to report or rock the boat. She said corporate told her to continue enrolling “anyone who was breathing.”
Whistleblowers Get $2.5M for Reporting Marinello Fraud
Mercer finally had enough in May 2012, and she resigned from her position. A few months later she went to an attorney, thinking she might have an employment case. She was shocked to hear that she had a False Claims Act case instead.
She began gathering evidence with six other Marinello employees, including Paige Stevens and Tameca Shelton. They created a war room in Mercer’s kitchen and called themselves the “Erin Brockobitches,” after famous whistleblower Erin Brockovich. They spent hours hunting down documents, test scores and financial aid records. Shelton even found evidence of documents that had been burned in a trash can at one of Marinello’s schools.
Despite their hard work, the case stalled. Their lawyers worried they didn’t have enough evidence and the DOJ had not yet decided to take on the case. Marinello fought back hard and turned the accusations back on the whistleblowers, saying they were the ones who committed fraud. Mercer said she started noticing people following her and strange cars parked outside her house.
The case was brought to an unexpected end four years later, when Marinello abruptly closed all of its campuses. The Department of Education had pulled funding for 23 schools and gave Marinello 10 days to plead its case. Rather than fight, Marinello simply shut its doors and filed for bankruptcy.
Finally, the government reached an $11 million settlement with Marinello. Mercer and the other whistleblowers split $2.5 million. Perhaps most importantly, Marinello is out of business and can no longer prey on students looking for a better future.
My Thoughts
There’s a misconception that whistleblowers are money-hungry gold diggers who make a quick buck by reporting anything they can. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and this episode is the perfect example why. Reporting fraud is complicated and extremely difficult, no matter how much money a qui tam plaintiff might make. They could make a miniscule amount in comparison to their effort, or they might make nothing at all. Even when a positive outcome is achieved, the far-reaching effects of fraud can never be erased.
During the case against Dr. Fata, Karadsheh was fired and had difficulty finding another job. He spent years in isolation because he couldn’t talk about the investigation while it was ongoing. He had virtually no support system, and many people assumed that his silence meant he was involved in the fraud. Karadsheh had no way to set the record straight until after the case was unsealed, and even then, patients were still angry with him. Despite all this trouble, Karadsheh made only a few hundred thousand dollars.
In the Marinello case, although the six whistleblowers did receive a reward, the beauty company got off relatively easy. The $11 million settlement was paid by Marinello’s insurance company, not Marinello itself. No criminal charges were filed against any corporate employees, and from the looks of the mansion shown on the episode, Marinello’s former owners seem to be doing just fine. Meanwhile, thousands of former students are still struggling to finish their degrees and find work to make up for the money they lost, and they are angry. Whistleblower Tameca Shelton was even assaulted by students in May 2018.
Despite all these hardships, every single whistleblower on the show said they would do it all over again. In fact, almost all of our clients tell me the same thing all the time. Even though the road is difficult and the results aren’t always perfect, whistleblowers know they’re doing the right thing. In cases of healthcare fraud, sometimes blowing the whistle means saving lives. That’s more valuable than any amount of money.
It’s easy to report online if you believe your employer is committing fraud and stealing from taxpayers. Although becoming a whistleblower isn’t easy, doing the right thing is always worthwhile.
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