On November 18, 2016, FMCH received a subpoena under the False Claims Act from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) seeking documents and information relating to the operations of Shiel Medical Laboratory, Inc., which FMCH acquired in October 2013. In the course of cooperating in the investigation and preparing to respond to the subpoena, FMCH identified falsifications and misrepresentations in documents submitted by a Shiel salesperson that relate to the integrity of certain invoices submitted by Shiel for laboratory testing for patients in long term care facilities. On February 21, 2017, FMCH terminated the employee and notified the United States Attorney of the termination and its circumstances. The terminated employee’s conduct is expected to result in demands for the Company to refund overpayments and to pay related penalties under applicable laws, but the monetary value of such payment demands cannot yet be reasonably estimated. The Brooklyn USAO continues to investigate a range of issues involving Shiel, including allegations of improper compensation (kickbacks) to physicians, and has disclosed that multiple sealed qui tam complaints underlie the investigation.
On December 12, 2017, the Company sold to Quest Diagnostics certain Shiel operations that are the subject of this Brooklyn subpoena, including the misconduct reported to the United States Attorney. Under the sale agreement, the Company retains responsibility for the Brooklyn investigation and its outcome. The Company continues to cooperate in the ongoing investigation