Michigan man spearheads Medicare fraud lawsuit, wins

GE Healthcare settles lawsuit for $30M

DETROIT – A Michigan man will be awarded millions for his role in filing a Medicare fraud lawsuit against Amersham Biosciences, a division of GE Healthcare.

James Wagel filed the lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act in 2006. The act allows private individuals with knowledge of fraud against the federal government to file lawsuits on the government's behalf. The lawsuit alleged Amsersham Biosciences knowingly provided false or misleading information to the federal Medicare program from 2000 to 2003 in connection with the distribution of the radiopharmaceutical agent Myoview -- a drug used by health care providers in the cardiology field to perform nuclear stress tests. The company was accused of asking for reimbursements at an inflated rate and also diluting the Myoview in order to maximize the number of doses.

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GE Healthcare has settled the lawsuit for $30 million.

Under the law, Wagel is entitled to a percentage of the settlement, which turns out to be just over $5 million for him.