Abortion business accused of 'misrepresenting' record
The arguments are getting hotter in a federal case in California that alleges Planned Parenthood, the nation's biggest abortion business, overcharged the federal government for services it provided in violation of the federal False Claims Act.
The law forbids government contractors from submitting "false or fraudulent" claims for payment and also authorizes private individuals to bring a legal action against the offenders to recover the overpayments.
According to the details of a statement from the American Center for Law and Justice, a district court opinion mishandled several issues in a case brought by a former Planned Parenthood staff member who is now a federal whistleblower.
The lower court dismissed the case, so the ACLJ is bringing the case to appeal, submitting a new brief that challenges Planned Parenthood's statements about the case.
The ACLJ said it filed an additional brief with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the multi-million dollar fraud case.
"Nationally, Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar operation. We believe this case will show that Planned Parenthood has been soaking taxpayers even beyond the legal limits," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the law firm. "The False Claims Act provides an important weapon in rectifying illegal runs on taxpayer dollars."
The allegation in the case is that Planned Parenthood affiliates in California illegally marked up the supposed cost of various birth control drugs when seeking government reimbursement, resulting in tens of millions of dollars of overbilling.
That extra money came from taxpayers' pockets, the case explains.
And the ACLJ confirmed state audits in both California and Washington state have found Planned Parenthood affiliates guilty of overbilling.
The ACLJ brief, filed just days ago, said Planned Parenthood was "misrepresenting" the record in the case and also "improperly" trying to add new arguments to the case as the appeal moves forward.
The newest filing also was posted online.
"This is a very complicated, highly technical area of the law," said Sekulow. "There is no way an ordinary citizen, no matter how just the claim or how egregious the fraud, could afford to take on a prominent law firm in a complex area of the law like this. We're very pleased that the ACLJ was available to provide the high-powered analysis a case like this calls for."
The ACLJ's opening appeal brief was filed in July, and it also has been posted online.
The organization earlier confirmed that the alleged overbilling involves tens of millions of dollars. The case was brought by a former Planned Parenthood worker against the business.
The overbilling reportedly came to light during a state audit of Planned Parenthood several years ago. The business president, Mark Salo, had notified branches about an audit plan, and Martha Swiller of Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles told staff members, "This is bad," the report said.
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: September 29, 2009
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