The federal cases were each brought under the False Claims Act and stem from allegations that, by continuing to sell the potentially harmful products to healthcare facilities, where they were used to treat patients enrolled in federal healthcare programs such as Medicare, both companies played a role in securing government payments for devices they knew were defective. RELATED: Ra Medical settles DOJ false claims investigations The case of St. Jude Medical—which was purchased by Abbott for $25 billion in early 2017—revolves around several models of its implantable defibrillators. When lithium clusters formed on the batteries of the affected devices, the batteries were at risk of shorting out and completely draining of power. According to the DOJ, St. Jude was aware of the issue by 2013. The following year, the company asked the FDA to clear an update to the devices that would fix the battery issue.