Medtronic's Covidien will pay $17,477,947 to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Three key notes:
1. Federal prosecutors accused Covidien of giving California and Florida physicians free or discounted support services to compel them to purchase its ClosureFAST radiofrequency ablation catheters.
2. The company's alleged Anti-Kickback Statute violations took place from Jan. 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2014.
3. Under the agreement, Covidien will pay an additional $1,474,892 to California and $1,047,160 to Florida.
Click here for more details on the settlement.