07/29/11
Long-term health care can be expensive, but fortunately many of those expenses are tax deductible. Two recent Tax Court decisions shed light on when such caregiver services are deductible. In Estate of Lillian Baral, 137 T.C. 1 (2011), the Court held that payments to non-medical caregivers are deductible as long as the patient is “chronically ill” and the doctor deems that caregivers are necessary due to the patient’s illness. Learn More →
07/28/11
On July 21, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its draft guidance describing the agency’s plan to apply its regulatory oversight to certain types of mobile medical applications (“apps”) that run on mobile platforms. The agency is focusing on medical apps that directly diagnose or treat conditions such as diabetes or transform mobile platforms, such as smartphones and iPads, into medical devices. Learn More →
07/28/11
Since 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued over 70 decisions that deregulate genetically engineered (GE) crops, some of which include corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, alfalfa and squash. On July 1, 2011, APHIS issued another decision deregulating GE Kentucky bluegrass. Learn More →
07/28/11
In July 2008, the FDA announced it would implement a rule to prohibit the extra-label use of cephalosporins but then revoked the order to consider all comments received on the prohibition. Learn More →
07/28/11
On July 26, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance that clarifies when changes or modifications to a previously cleared 510(k) device necessitate a new premarket submission. In order to introduce a medical device into the interstate market, the FDA must either approve a premarket application (PMA) or clear a 510(k) premarket notification. Learn More →
07/28/11
Earlier this week, a pair of whistleblowers filed an amended complaint in United States District Court in Atlanta alleging that DaVita, a kidney dialysis clinic, intentionally wasted medicine to collect Medicare drug overpayments. The plaintiffs claim that DaVita changed how it dispensed dialysis medication in order to inflate their Medicare reimbursement return. The original complaint, which was filed in October of 2007, was unsealed this past week. After two years of investigating the claim, the federal government decided in April that it did not intend to join the lawsuit.
Learn More →
07/27/11
Swiss financial advisor Beda Singenberger, 57, was charged with helping more than 60 U.S. taxpayers hide over $184 million in Swiss bank accounts and then avoid U.S. authorities by moving assets from UBS AG to other Swiss banks. The indictment came on the same day that U.S. authorities separately charged several Credit Suisse bankers with helping Americans evade taxes and nearly 2 ½ years after UBS paid a $780 million penalty settlement with the U.S. to avoid prosecution. Learn More →
07/27/11
Last Thursday, Federal prosecutors filed charges against Markus Walder, Susanne D. Rüegg Meier, Andrea Bachmann, and Josef Dörig for conspiring with other Swiss bankers to defraud the United States. The superseding indictment implicates the three Credit Suisse bankers and Swiss trust founder along with four other defendants who were charged February 23, 2011. Although the indictment refers to an “International Bank” and not Credit Suisse, details of the information point directly to the Swiss banking giant. The new charges mount pressure on offshore bankers and taxpayers alike as the U.S. toughens its stance on foreign banks that help Americans evade their taxes. Learn More →
07/25/11
On Thursday, July 7, 2011, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of the District of Columbia declared a mistrial in a criminal foreign bribery case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) involvingallegations of a corrupt deal to sell $15 million in supplies to Gabon’s Ministry of National Defense. Prosecutors from the Department of Justice alleged that defendants John Wier III, Pankesh Patel, Lee Allen Tolleson and Andrew Bigelow tried to bribe Gabonese officials to win contracts. Learn More →
07/21/11
As Venezuela continues to destabilize, anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance officers must take notice of the increased risks associated with doing business with corporations and banks located in the there. A destabilized Venezuela could result in a litany of AML and regulatory compliance issues ranging from money laundering to Iranian and Cuban Sanctions programs violations. Learn More →
