Quo Warranto Exhibits in Petition Against Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

Tampa Attorney Barry Cohen issued this press release announcing the filing of a State Supreme Court petition challenging Florida Attorney General and Republican Candidate for State Governor, Bill McCollum,  alleging that he received political campaign contributions from WellCare, party to a Medicaid fraud case, in exchange for  a lenient price tag for the settlement of the case.

The petition is what is called a quo warranto.  First of the writs extraordinaire, which can operate as an oversight mechanism, is when a citizen, in possession of the unenumerated right of the writ, in this case information of Medicaid fraud, goes forth, on behalf of the state, to challenge the authority of an individual holding public office or functioning in official capacity of the state, by petitioning the Attorney General to bring forth an action in the Supreme Court.

As Bill McCollum is the State Attorney General and subject of the quo warranto, that would be an inherent conflict of interest.

This conflict of interest triggers an activation argument, which is what gives this particular quo warranto significant weight in setting precedence with the substantive subject matter of Medicaid fraud within the States Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

Quo Warranto Exhbits in Petition Against Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

Tampa Law Firm Petitions Against Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum On Medicaid Fraud

The Law offices of Cohen, Foster & Romine announce its public challenge to the Florida Supreme Court to disqualify Attorney General Bill McCollum  (right) from the Medicaid fraud settlement with Wellcare due to conflict of interests and questionable political activities.


Most of you are familiar with the matter of Wellcare's theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Florida's Medicaid Fund.  As you know, Wellcare's fraud was exposed through the efforts of my client, Sean Hellein, who provided the FBI and Justice department with the documentation and proff necessary to expose Wellcare and its officers and directors and provided the basis for a federal False Claims Act suit on behalf of the US Government against Wellcare.

The public import of this matter, however, reaches far deeper than one company's fraud and theft - massive though it is.

The systematic raiding of the State's Medicaid funds on such an enormous scale could not have occurred without the knowledge and help of certain public officials.  We have learned the Wellcare's graft and corruption was accomplished via a state government system of personal political favors, legislative quit pro quo and legalized bribery so extensive that is has permeated the entire system of legal and legislative process, thereby placing Florida taxpayers at immediate risk of losing their rights to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen Medicaid funds without so much as a word from the state's chief law enforcement officer or any other state government official.

As such, in legal action never before brought in the State of Florida, we have filed a petition asking the Florida Supreme Court to disqualify Attorney General Ira "Bill" McCollum, Jr. from making any decision concerning the proposed settlement in the Wellcare lawsuit that would have the effect of allowing Wellcare to keep nearly two thirds of the monies it stole from Florida taxpayers.

The basis for this unprecedented action is our uncovering of McCollum's financial connections to Wellcare and the employment of a political quid pro quo by McCollum and other legislators to such an extent that it has created an inherent conflict of interest and answers the questions regarding McCollum's inexplicable failure to initiate any action whatsoever on behalf of the taxpayers to even determine how much money Wellcare actually stole from the State, as well as his willful blindness to critical healthcare legislationwhich would cost the taxpayers additional hundreds of millions of dollars.

Political favors are certainly nothing new.  But the petition we have filed with the Florida Supreme court exposes legal bribery in the name of campaign contributions that is staggering in both its scope and potential cost.  We have invited the Court to address this climate of corruption disguised as political contributions in addition to requesting disqualification of Attorney General McCollum.

Consistent with out strong feelings about the public's right to know and the historical purpose of our First Amendment, we urge the press to hear the details of this landmark legal action at the offices of Cohen, Foster & Romine, 201 E. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 1000, Tampa Florida, 336o2 at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 5, 2010.

This is not limited to the State of Florida as WellCare operates in:

Florida

Hawaii 

Georgia

Illinois

Missouri

New York

Ohio

All Hail The Florida Whistleblowers!

Taking the time to disperse Medicaid fraud news is more than exposing the fraud schemes, it also praises the brave and brilliant individuals who embark on such endeavors.

All hail the whistleblowers!!!

To Barry Cohen and his associates, I thank you for believing.


Petition says McCollum gave WellCare a break in fraud case

TAMPA - Attorney Barry Cohen claims in a new court petition that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is so tainted by campaign cash from WellCare  Health Plans and [here are the foster care Targeted Case Management programs!] that he shouldn't be involved in a massive settlement with the insurer.

Cohen's law firm is representing Sean Hellein, a former WellCare financial analyst, in a whistleblower suit against the Tampa-based company.

Hellein claims WellCare conspired over several years to defraud the federal government, Florida and six other states out of at least $400 million. [It's more than that!!!] He said WellCare got the money through Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income people.

WellCare has reached a potential deal to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice for $137.5 million. But Cohen and Hellein say the amount is too low and would allow WellCare to keep two-thirds of its ill-gotten gains.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, Cohen sought to link McCollum to what he called the state's failure to aggressively pursue WellCare. Cohen filed a petition asking the Florida Supreme Court to block McCollum from the proposed settlement.

The petition said that when he ran for attorney general in 2006, McCollum received $9,000 in direct contributions from WellCare. The figure is supported by a Tribune search of online campaign finance records.

But the petition said McCollum also benefited from more than $800,000 in contributions that WellCare provided to the Republican Party of Florida. The money was turned over to McCollum's campaign, the petition said.

The petition cites Republican Party contributions to McCollum's campaign that occurred within days of a large WellCare contribution to the party. Most money went to McCollum's campaign for attorney general, not his recent unsuccessful run for governor.

As attorney general, McCollum heads a unit that investigates Medicaid fraud.

Ryan Wiggins, a spokeswoman for McCollum's office, declined to comment on the allegations, saying, "We are waiting on further direction from the court."

Daniel Conston, spokesman for the Republican Party of Florida, denied any contributions were earmarked for McCollum.

"I'd chalk this up to one of many absurd allegations thrown around in politics today," Conston said. "The RPOF simply does not earmark contributions, nor would a contribution cause a GOP leader to turn a blind eye to a potential crime."

The petition said the contributions help explain why McCollum failed to investigate exactly how much WellCare improperly received from Florida, and why McCollum did not object when Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Andrew Agwunobi as head of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

Agwunobi served on WellCare's board of directors before taking the job at AHCA.

McCollum also looked the other way when legislators drafted a bill that might have helped WellCare but hurt the public, the petition said.

It happened when WellCare faced a $23 million repayment to the state of Florida for overcharging its Medicaid fund. WellCare successfully lobbied for legislation to head off future repayments but Crist vetoed the bill containing the measure.