Four individuals in South Florida have been sentenced to prison for their role in a coordinated scheme to sell more than 7,600 fraudulent diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses, which enabled them to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination without completing the necessary coursework. 

An Ohio woman, who falsely represented herself as a physician, and her physician husband were sentenced for a healthcare scheme which led some patients to believe they had cognitive diseases.

A man in possession of a loaded handgun was arrested Sept. 27 at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, NBC affiliate WSMV reported. 

A Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty to calling in a hoax bomb threat against Boston Children's Hospital.

A proposed class-action lawsuit was filed Sept. 26 against CVS Health and CVS Caremark because of allegations the PBM required pharmacies to pay fees for Medicare Part D prescriptions.

The owner of two telemedicine companies pleaded guilty to his role in a $44 million fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment.

A New Orleans federal judge has ruled that LCMC Health sought the correct state approvals for its $150 million acquisition of three Tulane University hospitals from Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare in January, according to nola.com.

California clinicians who provide abortion, contraception or gender-affirming care services to out-of-state patients will be offered legal protections under a new law that takes effect in 2024. 

A grand jury indicted a Michigan woman accused of posing as a registered nurse for the third time, The Detroit News reported Sept. 27.

From the Indiana attorney general accusing IU Health of failing to protect personal health information after physician spoke to the media about a 10-year-old patient's abortion, to fired MetroHealth CEO Akram Boutros, MD, seeking to have his successor sit for a disposition, here are 10 hospital lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's reported since Sept. 15:  

A physician and two pharmacists in Texas were charged in connection to a six-year, $170 million healthcare fraud case, the Justice Department said Sept. 26. 

A Charlotte, N.C., physician was found guilty of making false statements in connection with a scheme that defrauded federal benefits programs of more than $5 million. 

A surgeon in Sebring, Fla., is facing complaints surrounding three patient deaths and a wrong organ removed over the course of nine months, the Miami Herald reported Sept. 26.

The Justice Department has obtained $372 million in judgments against Kentucky businessman Rajen Shah and his companies for a laboratory testing scheme that targeted Medicare. 

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging that the online commerce giant engages in unfair monopolistic practices.

A Kentucky physician and nurse were convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to illicitly prescribe controlled substances and other related offenses to distributing controlled substances.

A medical equipment provider was ordered to pay $12 million in damages and penalties after being found liable in a Medicare fraud scheme. 

The Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, which was set to take effect Sept. 4, has been partially blocked while a federal court considers if the agency  has authority to issue the ban. The FTC also has proposed changes to premerger notifications, withdrew two antitrust policy statements related to enforcement in healthcare markets and made changes to healthcare breach reporting.  Here are four recent FTC moves and how they could affect hospitals and health systems:

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is accusing a St. Louis-based healthcare provider of violating state consumer protection law by giving puberty blockers to minors without a comprehensive mental health assessment. 

A New York City physician agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle allegations he overbilled Medicare for services provided to nursing home residents.