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Local whistleblower successful in court after calling out her boss for Medicare fraud

Woman fired from job but will receive $200K
Posted at 7:15 PM, Aug 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-01 07:30:00-04

Lori Moore is responsible for recovering a million dollars for taxpayers.

Moore says she worked in billing at Clear Vue Eye Center for years under the leadership of Dr. Monique Barbour.

Over time, she says noticed the numbers were off.

"Upcoding, bundling, billing for services that were never rendered," Moore says.

"When you start running down how many patients she sees in a day...it just doesn't add up," he says.

Moore claims Barbour's lavish lifestyle also raised her suspicion.

It included trips, multiple homes, and a double life as aspiring pop star Anayya Von Kitten.

"It's just strange," Moore says. "It didn't make sense."

 

Lori hired attorney Dave Scher after she says she blew the whistle on Barbour's activities and Barbour fired her.

"It's often times employers will fire whistleblowers when they try to tell the truth and get fraud stopped," Scher says.

She and her attorney brought the case to federal court.

"The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorneys agreed with our client Lorie Moore that Dr. Barbour and Clear Vue were illegally billing Medicare," said Scher. 

In a settlement, Barbour agreed to pay $1 million to the government.

We contacted the doctor Wednesday by phone, and went to her office in Lake Worth to get her perspective, but she wasn't available.

Moore, meanwhile, says she's happy she was able to stand up for the working man and also has a warning for others.

"Don't scam the government and don't scam people," said Moore.

She filed this case under the Federal False Claims Act, which makes it illegal to deceive the federal government for financial gain.

The law, signed by Abraham Lincoln back in 1863, allows the whistleblower to claim a share of the proceeds if they are successful.

It means Moore will get $200,000 for blowing the whistle on her boss.