By Aruna Viswanatha
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In an unusual move, the U.S. Department of Justice late Thursday revised a nearly 10-month-old press release about the resolution of a Medicare overbilling probe, after one of the settling parties threatened to sue it for defamation over the original release.
Sanjay Puri, the owner of Washington-area medical billing company Engage Medical Inc, was unhappy that the Feb. 18 release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Maryland did not make explicit that he had denied liability in agreeing to settle.
That press release had already been revised once, after Puri had objected to the first version which didn't address his liability at all - which the actual settlement documents do.
The changes do not affect Puri's and Engage's agreement to pay $544,500 toward the $3.34 million settlement, which also covered several doctors and other firms.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on the new release.
Puri, who is also head of a U.S.-India political action committee, in an interview said he believed the Feb. 18 press release mischaracterized the settlement, and hurt his personal and professional reputation.
"The political world also is very, very sensitive to these kinds of information," he said. "People look at you a little differently."
Puri said he agreed to settle to put the investigation behind him.
The revised press release came as government enforcers have faced questions about whether they let some civil defendants get off too easy by allowing them to settle probes without admitting wrongdoing, and in some cases denying the charges.
But some defendants argue they would otherwise have little incentive to settle, and would instead fight charges in court.
"Mr. Puri was committed to clearing his name, and we explained that all options were on the table," his lawyer, Adam Lurie of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, said.
Andy Jackson, a lawyer at Jones Day who defends cases over government contractor fraud and overbilling, said it is common for such cases to be resolved without admissions. He said he could not remember another instance of the government revisiting a similar press release.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)