July 18, 2006 Medtronic Inc. Medtronic Inc. has agreed to pay $40 Million Dollars to settle claims raised in a qui tam action filed by a private relator. The allegations of the case were that Medtronic paid illegal kickbacks to doctors in encourage the doctors to use Medtronic’s products. The kickbacks were allegedly paid in a number of forms which included sham consulting agreements, sham royalty agreements and lavish trips to desirable locations. These kickbacks were alleged to be violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. The private relator who filed the qui tam action is expected to receive up to $10 Million Dollars for having filed the case. See U.S. Dept of Justice Press Release 7/18/06
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