Practice Area - Philadelphia Kickbacks Defense

Kickbacks

What are kickbacks?

Kickbacks are payments or other types of compensation made in order to influence and gain profit from an individual or company. Essentially, kickbacks are bribes. An individual or company uses kickbacks to gain an unearned advantage, benefit, or opportunity, even if others are more qualified or offer more competitive prices. A relatively simple but serious type of white collar crime, kickbacks hurt business by interfering with the functioning of competition in the marketplace.

What industries are prone to kickbacks?

Kickbacks are often associated with governmental, and especially procurement, fraud. The crime is committed in a variety of settings, however, including the healthcare industry and employee benefit or pension plans.

Here are some examples of how illegal kickbacks may be used:

A building contractor might kick back part of what he is paid to the government official responsible for selecting his company for the job.
A pharmaceutical or medical device company might offer free training or other benefits to doctors who prescribe its drug.
A benefit or pension provider might provide cash or another bonus to brokers who convince companies to choose their services over those of another provider.

As these examples illustrate, the setting in which kickbacks are used may vary widely, but the basic formula.

Contact the the Philadelphia Law Offices of Attorney William Spade

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Law Offices of William Spade
1525 Locust Street • Philadelphia, PA 19102 • Phone: 215-732-3001 • Fax: 215-732-0124 • E-Mail: info@spadelaw.com