Until this week, Simon Law client Donna Chronister’s identity has been kept secret.
This week, the role she played in blowing the whistle on her former employer has been made public after her former boss was ordered to pay more than $1 million for defrauding Medicare and Missouri Medicaid programs.
Simon Law Attorney Anthony G. Simon represented Chronister, a former employee of Progressive Pain Management in Festus. The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers like Chronister to receive a portion of any settlement the government reaches as the result of an investigation. Mrs. Chronister’s portion of this settlement is about $180,000.
“Mrs. Chronister’s decision to come forward to do the right thing in this case took a tremendous amount of courage,” Anthony G. Simon said. “We are pleased this case has come to the resolution that it has, and we have the utmost respect for the bravery Mrs. Chronister and all of the whistleblowers we represent have shown.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced the $1.2 million settlement this week with Dr. Nehal Modh and Modh’s company. U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri also complemented Mrs. Chronister’s bravery.
“We thank the whistleblower for her courage to bring her concerns forward,” Fleming wrote in a press release. “This settlement is an example of our important civil enforcement efforts where we work with whistleblowers to protect the public fisc.”
The allegations included that Modh and his company falsely claimed to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid that ultrasound guidance was used on certain pain management injections; made false claims for facet joint injections that did not meet billing requirements; and improperly coded claims for payment to receive excess reimbursement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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