US’ False Claims Settlement With Acupuncturist Enforced by Court

Federal prosecutors convinced a court to enforce a $2.3 million settlement in a False Claims Act suit alleging that a Texas acupuncturist and his clinic submitted inflated bills to the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dongxin Ma and Ma Acupuncture Center PC argued that they didn’t personally consent to an oral settlement agreement made at mediation or give their prior counsel authority to consent.

But Ma’s counsel of record was presumed to be speaking on his client’s behalf, and therefore that attorney’s agreement to settlement terms was enough to bind the defendants, Judge Robert Pitman of the US District Court ...