A Whistleblower lawsuit over bait-and-switch advertisements has ended in an 18-million dollar settlement with the federal government and the state of Tennessee.
The ad from Antioch-based diabetes supply company AmMed Direct offered recipe books for people with the disease.
“…Call now to get your five free cookbooks! Plus this free meal-planning guide! They’re free if you have diabetes and are on Medicare…”
But when people called, the US Attorney’s office says they got an illegal sales pitch for things like diabetes testing supplies and heating pads, which were then improperly billed to Medicare. And from 2006 through 2010, when customers returned the supplies, the company didn’t refund Medicare or Tenncare.
The bulk of the settlement will go to the federal government, with about 440-thousand dollars earmarked for Tennessee. The employee who brought the problem to the government’s attention, a man named Bryan McNeese, will get nearly 3 million dollars.
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