Corporate investigations archive

Fintech Policy: Center for Responsible Lending Report Highlights Hidden Costs Associated with Small-Dollar Loans Made Through On-Demand Cash Advance Apps

Amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny of the hidden costs associated with earned wage access (EWA) and cash advance products, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a non-profit research and policy advocacy group, on Wednesday issued a report entitled “Not Free: The Large Hidden...

Apr 05, 2024 Read Now >

Globe Life: Unfair Labor Practice Charge Filed Against Subsidiary American Income Life; Worker Alleges AIL Forced Ineffectual Union Membership on Independent Contractors

A sales agent at insurance giant Globe Life (GL) subsidiary American Income Life Insurance Company (AIL) filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today, alleging AIL retaliated against the worker for discussing their pay and working conditions,...

Apr 04, 2024 Read Now >

Acadia Healthcare: Troubled Illinois Behavioral Health Hospital Racking up Violations Despite New Ownership Under Acadia; Management Struggling to Fill Beds

In 2019, state and federal authorities stripped Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, a behavioral facility for teens and adolescents, of both funding and its license after a string of regulatory violations and allegations of child abuse. Two years later, Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) purchased the...

Apr 02, 2024 Read Now >

Globe Life: Agency Salespeople Are Likely Misclassified; Arbitration Provisions Obstruct Employees’ Access to Courts

Thousands of salespeople at agencies under American Income Life Insurance Company (AIL), a subsidiary of insurance giant Globe Life, Inc. (GL), are likely misclassified as independent contractors—denying them minimum wage, overtime, and a host of other benefits—employment law experts...

Mar 26, 2024 Read Now >

Acadia Healthcare: Analysis of Pennsylvania Database Finds Facility Violations Far Outpace State Average for Substance Abuse Rehabs; Similar Violations Found by Regulators in North Carolina

A Capitol Forum analysis of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs database of treatment centers in the state finds that centers run by Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) have significantly higher rates of regulatory violations when compared with non-Acadia centers. These rates of...

Mar 18, 2024 Read Now >

Medtronic: Adverse Event Reports Raise Questions About Company’s Device Safety Claims, Regulator’s Oversight

Adverse event reports received by the Food and Drug Administration and released to the public on a monthly basis continue to raise questions about the agency’s ability to ensure medical device safety, a Capitol Forum review of data related to implantable cardiac rhythm devices...

Mar 15, 2024 Read Now >

Addus HomeCare: Nearly 1,000 Medicaid Clients at New Mexico Subsidiary Were Never Seen by Personal Care Aides, According to Internal Email and Former Employees

Staff at Ambercare, a New Mexico subsidiary of Addus HomeCare (ADUS), failed to provide any services for almost 1,000 Medicaid recipients in the state, according to an internal email reviewed by The Capitol Forum and interviews with former employees of the...

Mar 14, 2024 Read Now >

Absent General Dynamics Improvements, Pentagon Forecasts Year-Long Delay to Columbia-class Nuclear Submarine Program

The Navy is projecting a year-long delay to its No. 1 acquisition program, the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine fleet, unless prime contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat (GD) makes significant performance improvements, two sources told The Capitol...

Mar 11, 2024 Read Now >

Evolv Technology: Weapons Detection Company Scrubs Online Marketing Materials in Midst of FTC, SEC Probes

Evolv Technology (EVLV), which has sold itself to customers and investors as a “frictionless” artificial intelligence weapons detection system capable of screening people 10 times faster than conventional metal detectors, recently made several changes to its online marketing...

Mar 01, 2024 Read Now >

LifeStance Health: Analysis of Provider Directory Shows 50 Net Clinician Adds in First 26 Days of February; Reversal of 28 January Clinician Removals

LifeStance Health (LFST), a roll-up of outpatient mental health clinics across 33 states, appears to have added 50 net clinicians month-to-date, according to a Capitol Forum analysis of the company’s online provider...

Feb 27, 2024 Read Now >

UnitedHealth Receives CID In Managed Care Probe as DOJ Seeks Expert Witnesses

UnitedHealth Group (UNH), a focus of DOJ’s Section 2 investigation of the managed care industry, recently received a civil investigative demand from the department, sources familiar with the matter...

Feb 27, 2024 Read Now >

Acadia Healthcare: Former Employees Say Medication-Assisted Treatment Centers Falsified Counseling Records, Dispensed Drugs Without Providing Required Services

Understaffed medication-assisted treatment centers run by Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) allegedly routinely dispense drugs to patients without providing the necessary counseling sessions despite government requirements to do so, a Capitol Forum investigation has...

Feb 26, 2024 Read Now >

AirSculpt: Former Employees Raise Concerns Over Patient Safety and Sterilization Practices That Risk Patient Infection; Negative Reviews Were Sanitized and Potentially Improper Conduct was Sanctioned to Generate Positive Reviews, Risking FTC Scrutiny

Former employees of AirSculpt (AIRS), a national chain of body-contouring liposuction clinics, are raising concerns about lax standards, including poor sterilization processes, that are harming patients. Knowledge of these harms, which include infections and at least one patient death,...

Jan 16, 2024 Read Now >

Doctors With Histories of Big Malpractice Settlements Have Found a New Home in the Insurance Industry

This story was originally published by ProPublica. When Shawn Murphy’s wife died in 2009 after a botched gallbladder surgery, he presumed the doctor who performed the operation would be forced out of medicine for good. Dr. Pachavit Kasemsap, a former Air Force surgeon, had cut Loretta...

Dec 15, 2023 Read Now >

Payment for Exclusive Contracts for Veterinary Point-Of-Care Diagnostics Raises Anticompetitive Conduct Concerns, According to Expert, Pet Owners, and Former Employees

Ten years after the FTC found that IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) held an illegal monopoly in diagnostic testing for veterinarians, a Capitol Forum investigation finds that the company has taken steps to maintain its monopoly position through anticompetitive practices in its direct sales...

Dec 14, 2023 Read Now >

Medtronic: Ongoing Reports of Malfunctions of Implantable Cardiac Devices Raise Questions About Recall Strategy

Recalled implantable cardiac defibrillators sold by Medtronic (MDT) continue to generate hundreds of monthly reports of adverse events to the Food and Drug Administration, a Capitol Forum review of data has found. The devices, known as ICDs and CRT-Ds, were recalled in May when Medtronic...

Dec 13, 2023 Read Now >

Dexcom: Company Not Supplying Blood Glucose Meters to Medicare Patients, Potentially Violating Medicare Guidelines

Dexcom (DXCM), a manufacturer of continuous glucose monitors (CGM), has not been providing all of the required supplies to patients using it devices, placing additional potential financial burdens on its patients and potentially violating Medicare guidelines, according to a Capitol Forum...

Dec 07, 2023 Read Now >

Health Insurers Have Been Breaking State Laws for Years

This story was originally published by ProPublica. In North Carolina, lawmakers outraged that breast cancer patients were being denied reconstructive surgeries passed a measure forcing health insurers to pay for them. In Arizona, legislators intervened to protect patients with diabetes,...

Nov 16, 2023 Read Now >

Insurance Executives Refused to Pay for the Cancer Treatment That Could Have Saved Him. This Is How They Did It.

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Forrest VanPatten was 50 and strong after years as a molten-iron pourer when he learned in July 2019 that a hyperaggressive form of lymphoma had invaded his body. Chemotherapy failed. Because he was not in remission, a stem cell...

Nov 15, 2023 Read Now >

AirSculpt: Patient Died From Complications During Liposuction Procedure, Company Concealed Patient Death; Public Awareness Could Negatively Affect Company

A 37-year-old mother of two walked into a San Diego AirSculpt (AIRS) office last October for abdominoplasty and gluteoplasty with liposuction. The woman had been sold on the promise of AirSculpt—advertised as a noninvasive alternative to traditional liposuction that claims to deliver...

Nov 10, 2023 Read Now >

Labcorp: The Invisible Workers Keeping Our Healthcare System Alive Are Reaching a Breaking Point

This piece is published in collaboration with 404 Media. Somewhere in the bowels of a Labcorp drug testing facility in Madison, Wisconsin, which one worker described to me as “the bunker,” is a severed human finger encased in wax. The finger, which workers presume was once attached to...

Nov 09, 2023 Read Now >

ODDITY: Beauty Tech Company’s Product Marketing Based on Artificial Intelligence Claims Called into Question

Beauty and wellness product company ODDITY (ODD), which markets itself as a consumer technology firm that uses artificial intelligence to match shoppers with personalized skin, hair and anti-aging products, may be overstating the capabilities of that technology, a Capitol Forum...

Oct 27, 2023 Read Now >

InnovAge: After CMS Lifted Sanctions, Company Cut Large Portions of Compliance and Quality Departments; Former Employees Say Cuts Will Only Exacerbate Ongoing Patient Harm; Company Already Out of Compliance with Multiple Regulations, Increasing Likelihood of Additional Sanctions

A few months after CMS and state regulators lifted sanctions against InnovAge (INNV), the country’s largest operator of PACE healthcare programs for low-income seniors, the company fired large portions of staff in its compliance, quality, and nursing departments. The company also began...

Oct 26, 2023 Read Now >

Medtronic: Recalled Defibrillators Continue to Generate Adverse Event Reports; MAUDE Data Indicates Device Problems Persist Despite Recall

More than a year after medical device maker Medtronic (MDT) notified customers of life-threatening defects in its implantable cardiac defibrillators—a warning that was later classified by the Food and Drug Administration as its most serious type of recall—hundreds of reports of...

Oct 13, 2023 Read Now >

InMode: Pricing Flexibility of Products Raises Questions Regarding Statements to Investors and Margin Consistency

InMode (INMD), a manufacturer of aesthetic medical devices, has consistently posted gross margins of roughly 85% over the last several years, a figure that CEO Moshe Mizrahy has said is an absolute necessity for the company. In 2021, Mizrahy told investors that 85% gross margins are “a...

Oct 12, 2023 Read Now >

Corcept Therapeutics: VA Prescriptions Fall Off for ‘Lack of Therapeutic Response;’ VA OIG Conducted Independent Assessment of Prescriptions at Orlando VA System

Prescriptions for Korlym, the only drug sold by Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), at VA hospitals has fallen by roughly 90% since 2018, according to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Capitol Forum. That steep drop-off comes after a previously-undisclosed VA Office of Inspector...

Sep 28, 2023 Read Now >

ZoomInfo: Repeated Processing of Personal Information Raises Questions About Company’s GDPR Compliance

ZoomInfo (ZI), a creator and aggregator of profiles for business professionals, has been repeatedly processing and selling the personal information of at least one individual covered by the United Kingdom’s General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR), in violation of the...

Sep 27, 2023 Read Now >

Evolv Technology: Claims Made in Connection With Sales of Weapons Detection Systems Appear to Overstate Capabilities, Potentially Exposing Company to FTC Action

Security screening company Evolv Technology (EVLV) may be overstating the capabilities of its walk-through metal detectors, which the company markets as faster and smarter than competitors—claims that have been called into question by customers and an industry research group, raising...

Sep 22, 2023 Read Now >

InMode: Sales Meeting Recording Details Importance of Morpheus8V Sales to OBGYNS Even Though Company Does Not Have FDA Approval for Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence

In audio recordings from a February sales conference, Dr. Spero Theodorou, Chief Medical Officer of InMode (INMD), told sales representatives to sell a device that he acknowledged did not have FDA approval to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) to OBGYNs because it was a “Trojan...

Sep 18, 2023 Read Now >

Medtronic: Class Action Filed Over Recalled Defibrillators; Devices Continue to Produce Adverse Event Reports, Including Deaths and Injuries, in FDA Data

Implantable cardiac defibrillators sold by medical device maker Medtronic (MDT), some of which have been recalled since August of 2022, continue to generate a high volume of reports of adverse events to the Food and Drug Administration, a Capitol Forum review of report data has found. The...

Sep 14, 2023 Read Now >

LifeStance: Company Imposed Restriction on New TRICARE and Anthem Patients in Some California Locations, but Misled Payer Representatives and Patients into Believing Appointments Could be Scheduled

Payers that contract with LifeStance Health (LFST) frequently send questionnaires to LifeStance to inquire about provider and appointment availability for a specific insured member who needs mental health care. But in the case of TRICARE and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in certain...

Aug 24, 2023 Read Now >

AAON: Sales Concentration with Texas AirSystems and Meriton Raises Red Flags, Potentially Requiring Additional Disclosures

AAON Inc. (AAON), a large manufacturer of ventilation and air conditioning equipment for both commercial and residential use, discloses in its SEC filings that its customer Texas AirSystems LLC accounted for “more than 10% or more of its sales during 2022, 2021 and 2020” and accounted...

Aug 24, 2023 Read Now >

Khan Outlines FTC Support for Employees to Report Harassment Following Allegations Against Wright

This article has been updated slightly for clarity. FTC Chair Lina Khan, in the wake of allegations made against former Commissioner Joshua Wright, outlined steps this week that agency employees can take to report sexual harassment. In a memo yesterday to agency staff and her fellow...

Aug 16, 2023 Read Now >

Fiserv: California State Legislator’s Office Investigating Award of Two Additional Contracts to Money Network After Problems With Middle Class Refund Program

Money Network Financial—a subsidiary of global fintech and payments company Fiserv (FI)—last year was awarded a contract by California’s Franchise Tax Board to administer the state’s middle class tax refund, consisting of over $9 billion to be disbursed to over 32 million eligible...

Aug 14, 2023 Read Now >

Medtronic: Device Incident Data Differs from Company’s Figures in Recall of Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators, Raising Questions About Company’s Calculations

After a series of recalls of implantable cardiac devices sold by medical device maker Medtronic (MDT), a Capitol Forum review of device incident data suggests that there may be more adverse events associated with the defibrillators than the company has identified in its recalls due to the...

Aug 08, 2023 Read Now >

Citigroup: DOJ Investigating Possible Race Discrimination in Mortgage Lending

The Department of Justice is looking at whether Citigroup (C) discriminated against Black and Hispanic homebuyers in recent years, at a time when the nation’s third-largest bank was struggling to satisfy federal banking rules, according to sources familiar with the matter. A national...

Jul 21, 2023 Read Now >

Encompass Health: Former Employees Raise Concerns Regarding Enrollment Practices and Compliance with Medicare Requirements

For Medicare to pay for inpatient rehabilitation, patients must be diagnosed with at least one of 13 possible conditions and must be able to show a need and capability to undergo intensive rehabilitation for at least 15 hours per week. Medicare also requires that the assessment, known as...

Jul 20, 2023 Read Now >

How Often Do Health Insurers Say No to Patients? No One Knows.

This article is being published in partnership with ProPublica. This joint investigation won Silver in the Barlett & Steele Awards, which recognize excellence in investigative business journalism. It’s one of the most crucial questions people have when deciding which health plan to...

Jun 28, 2023 Read Now >

LifeStance: Company Creates Barriers to Mental Health Treatment, Cancels Appointments When Patients Refuse to Pay Amounts They Don’t Owe

LifeStance Health (LFST), a nationwide roll up of outpatient mental health clinics, has, in at least some clinics, installed gatekeepers who demand patients pay whatever the company’s error-ridden billing system shows as outstanding—even if it’s wrong—as a precondition to seeing...

Jun 27, 2023 Read Now >

iRhythm: FDA Publishes Warning Letter to Company Citing Several Problems with Labelling and Data Storage, Potentially Paving Path for Recall

Earlier this morning, the FDA published a lengthy warning letter the agency had sent to heart monitoring company iRhythm (IRTC) regarding the marketing of its Zio AT System as providing “near real-time monitoring” for immediate monitoring of “high-risk patients.” However, as the...

Jun 06, 2023 Read Now >

Natera: Response to Public Records Request Suggests Kentucky Attorney General’s Investigation into Natera Has Progressed

The response to a recent records request by The Capitol Forum to the Kentucky Attorney General suggests that the agency’s investigation into genetic testing company Natera (NTRA) has progressed over the last three months, with the agency gathering evidence and potentially preparing for...

Jun 05, 2023 Read Now >

InMode: Former Sales Employees Detail Relationship with Financial Partners Group

Former sales employees of InMode (INMD), a manufacturer of medical aesthetic devices, tell The Capitol Forum that the company had a “hand in glove” relationship with Financial Partners Group (FPG), a broker that arranged financing for purchases of InMode devices by clinics and med...

May 26, 2023 Read Now >

Zynex: Company’s Accounting Practices Raise Red Flags, According to Accounting Experts

The accounting practices of Zynex (ZYXI), a manufacturer of electrotherapy devices for pain management, are raising red flags with finance experts who questioned how the company is accounting for adjustments, allowances, and nonpayment of the claims it submits to insurers. According to...

May 24, 2023 Read Now >

LifeStance Health: Vulnerable Mental Health Patients Burdened with Unwarranted Medical Debt from Company’s Billing Practices, Errors, and High Fees

In October, the Better Business Bureau submitted a written request to LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (LFST), a publicly traded, private equity-backed company that owns or manages hundreds of outpatient mental health facilities across 33 states, encouraging LifeStance to address a pattern...

May 19, 2023 Read Now >

Congressional Committee, Regulators Question Cigna System that Lets Its Doctors Deny Claims without Reading Patient Files

This article is published in partnership with ProPublica. This joint investigation won Silver in the Barlett & Steele Awards, which recognize excellence in investigative business journalism. A key congressional committee asked insurance giant Cigna on Tuesday to provide corporate...

May 16, 2023 Read Now >

Zynex: Company Overbilling Federal TRICARE Program for Electrodes; Practice Mirrors 2018 DOJ False Claims Act Settlement

Zynex Medical (ZYXI), a manufacturer of electrotherapy devices for pain management, is overbilling TRICARE, the military health program for active-duty soldiers and their family members, for millions of dollars in unnecessary supplies for its devices, according to a Capitol Forum...

May 11, 2023 Read Now >

TD Bank/First Horizon: CEO Met With Top Bank Examiner Days After Deal Delay Announced, Document Shows

Days after the head of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) declared he was “fully committed” to his company’s proposed acquisition of First Horizon Bank (FHN), he met with senior officials of one U.S. regulator that will decide whether the $13.4 billion deal goes ahead, according to an...

May 04, 2023 Read Now >

CFPB March Complaint Data: Total Monthly Complaints Hit 12 Month High as Bureau’s Policy Statement on Abusive Acts or Practices Appears to Signal Paradigm Shift, Prioritizing Fair Dealing Over Consumer Sovereignty

Total monthly complaints submitted by consumers to the CFPB rose to 112,600 in March 2023, reflecting an approximately 30% increase from February and the highest total number of complaints over the past twelve-month period, as measured by The Capitol Forum. The categories with the largest...

Apr 20, 2023 Read Now >

The Beauty Health Company: Syndeo Defects, Company Policies Frustrate Machine Users

The Beauty Health Company (SKIN), maker of the HydraFacial skincare device and products, has clamped down on chatter among frustrated estheticians who recently took to a Facebook group page to voice concerns about defective HydraFacial machines and to discuss potential competitor...

Apr 13, 2023 Read Now >

How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them

This article was published in partnership with ProPublica. This joint investigation won Silver in the Barlett & Steele Awards, which recognize excellence in investigative business journalism. When a stubborn pain in Nick van Terheyden’s bones would not subside, his doctor had a...

Mar 25, 2023 Read Now >

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