Mitt Romney company Damon Clinical Laboratories was busted in huge Medicare fraud case #p2 #tcot

According to a cited Forbes report, in 1989, Bain Capital purchased controlling interest in Damon Clinical Laboratories Corporation, a medical testing company located in Needham, Massachusetts.

In 1996, Damon admitted that from 1988 to 1993 it had shored up its earnings by submitting false claims to Medicare and other federal programs, and had agreed to pay , after being found guilty, a $35.3 million criminal fine — one of the largest corporate fines in U.S. history — and an additional $83.7 million to settle the lawsuits..

The company, then owned by Corning, ended the scheme after it had acquired Damon from Bain Capital in 1993, according to company and prosecutors' statements.

Mitt Romney claimed Bain Capital never worked with any company that worked with the government—like Medicare or Medicaid. Even when asked directly by Newt Gingrich at one debate, Romney responded, "We didn't do any work with the government. I didn't have an office on K Street. I didn't—had never worked—I've never worked in Washington."

Let's look at the facts:

In 1993, Romney claimed he was unaware of any investigation — quoted in the Boston Globe on Oct. 10, 1993.  When the Globe revisited the case during Romney's run for governor in 1992, his story was different. Romney's story changed about his knowledge of the investigation.

The Globe, disclosing that Romney had earned $473,000 from the sale, reported on Oct. 10, 2002:

"Romney said yesterday he was a proactive board member who helped to uncover the fraud. Romney said the board used its New York law firm to investigate, and as a result, the board took 'corrective action' months before Damon was sold to Corning."

But as the Globe reported, court records — including statements from prosecutors and Damon's own admissions — told a different story, and reveal that the fraudulent activity occurred right up until the time Bain and other owners sold the company to Corning. Prosecutors also gave sole credit to Corning for cleaning up the fraud after it purchased the company from Bain and other owners.

Romney later admitted that the board did not report to federal investigators any findings from the alleged internal inquiry.

rest http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/30/romney-damon-corporation-and-a-119-million-medicare-fraud-settlement/