Washington, DC, July 1, 2026—Today, the Justice Department joined and settled for $1.45 million a whistleblower lawsuit filed against Progressive Oncology and Hematology Center and Mouhamad Bazzi, MD, the owner of Progressive Oncology. The federal False Claims Act complaint alleged that Dr. Bazzi shortchanged cancer patients by failing to administer prescribed doses of chemotherapy, even though he and Progressive Oncology billed Medicare and Medicaid for the full prescribed dose. The lawsuit was filed in July 2021 by Phillips & Cohen LLP on behalf of two whistleblowers who were pharmacy technicians at Progressive Oncology in Frederick, Maryland.
The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Bazzi and Progressive Oncology fraudulently inflated claims for reimbursement to government healthcare programs by billing Medicare and Medicaid for full doses of chemotherapy on patients who received less. The lawsuit also alleges that Dr. Bazzi defrauded federal and state healthcare programs by impermissibly billing for chemotherapy drugs that were purchased by the patient, provided by a patient assistance program at no cost, or already paid for by an insurance program. The lawsuit alleges the fraudulent schemes resulted in false claims to government healthcare programs because they either misrepresented the quantity of drugs administered or represented that the claims were reimbursable.
“We brought this case on behalf of our clients because we were very alarmed by their allegations that Dr. Bazzi failed to give his patients the full amount of chemotherapy that was prescribed, and that he fraudulently billed Medicare for the amounts that weren’t administered,” said Matthew Smith, a whistleblower attorney with Phillips & Cohen. “The alleged practice included billing the government for full vials that were never even pulled from the refrigerator, purely for extra profit for Dr. Bazzi.”
“The allegations that Dr. Bazzi underdosed vulnerable cancer patients of their chemotherapy is absolutely unconscionable,” said Erika Kelton, a whistleblower attorney and partner with Phillips & Cohen. “We hope this lawsuit deters other medical providers from putting profits over patients’ well-being.”
“I saw this alleged fraud undertaken against patients in their most vulnerable state—being treated for cancer – and knew I had to find a way to put an end to this alleged behavior,” said Veronica Lopez, a whistleblower and former pharmacy technician with Progressive Oncology, where she was responsible for inventory and mixing chemotherapy drugs.
“I thought we were putting patients at risk with the alleged behavior and knew this potential scam was costing the government millions of dollars, said T.J. Perry, a whistleblower and a former pharmacy technician at Progressive Oncology, where he was responsible for inventory and mixing chemotherapy drugs. “I am proud to bring the alleged wrongdoing to light.”
Phillips & Cohen thanked Assistant US Attorney Kimberly Phillips, Assistant US Attorney Roann Nichols, and Investigator Ann Thiel for their work investigating and settling this case.
Copy of the complaint.
Under the federal False Claims Act, whistleblowers are entitled to between 15 and 30 percent of the money recovered by the government for fraud committed against the government.
Phillips & Cohen is the nation’s most successful law firm representing whistleblowers. The firm’s cases have helped recover more than $13 billion in civil settlements and criminal fines. Phillips & Cohen represents whistleblowers in qui tam lawsuits as well as whistleblower claims under other reward programs, including the SEC, CFTC, and IRS whistleblower programs.