Justice Dept. complaint against Dist. 15 BOE president dismissed

A federal civil complaint against Lawrence school board president Murray Forman was dismissed last week. The complaint against Forman and two other principals of nursing home chains alleged that they had accepted a kickback from a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Dismissed was a U.S. Justice Department civil complaint against Atlanta-based nursing home chains Mariner Health Care and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services and its principals, which includes Forman, Leonard Grunstein and Rubin Schron, for accepting a $50 million kickback scheme from Covington, Ky.-based Omnicare. A $14 million settlement was paid by Schron to the federal government and several other states, according to the Justice Department.

Forman, who has been Lawrence school board president since 2007, said in a phone interview Monday that he did not pay any of the $14 million settlement and is glad the issue is behind him. "I am pleased that I was absolutely disposed of [the complaint] for no payment of money," said Forman. "As far as I'm concerned I have been vindicated and my life goes on as if this never happened."

Forman, SavaSeniorCare and Grunstein issued a statement on Feb 26 saying they had filed a motion to dismiss the government's entire case against them for failure to state any legal or factual claim. The government did not answer the motion, Forman’s statement indicates, and the complaint was settled with the $14 million payment, and the case was dismissed. The statement went on to say that Forman and the other defendants “denied that they engaged in any wrongful conduct" and that the settlement does not mean they are admitting guilt.

"Unfortunately this is a case of an aggressive prosecutor that did not understand a complex transaction," said Forman. "We have an environment of overzealous prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves and it is unfortunate that I fell under their cross hairs."

The government's complaint alleged that after subpoenas were issued to the three men in 2006 they created backdated documents in an attempt to hide the kickback. The investigation was handled by the Justice Department's Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As part of the settlement, the Office of Inspector General and Department of Health and Human Services has reserved its rights to seek exclusions for Forman and the other defendants from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and all other federal health care programs.

"This case reflects the government's continuing efforts to pursue those who scheme to hide illegal payments that can affect the way drugs and other services are delivered to nursing home residents, an especially vulnerable patient population," Carmen M. Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said in a statement after the dismissals.