American Airlines is latest carrier hit with class-action lawsuit over refunds for canceled flights

FOX NEWS

A class-action complaint against American Airlines alleges that the carrier has been engaging in “unfair and deceptive conduct” when it comes to providing refunds for canceled flights.

The firm handling Ward’s case, Hagens Berman, has already filed similar class-action complaints against United Airlines and Delta. read more »

Flaw in iPhone, iPads may have allowed hackers to steal data for years

REUTERS

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is planning to fix a flaw that a security firm said may have left more than half a billion iPhones vulnerable to hackers.

The bug, which also exists on iPads, was discovered by ZecOps, a San Francisco-based mobile security forensics company, while it was investigating a sophisticated cyberattack against a client that took place in late 2019. Zuk Avraham, ZecOps’ chief executive, said he found evidence the vulnerability was exploited in at least six cybersecurity break-ins. read more »

Christian Health Sharing Group Is Target of Customer Lawsuits

NEW YORK TIMES

State regulators in New York and elsewhere are also trying to stop the marketing of plans they say look like health insurance but offer no guarantees of coverage.

The most recent lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Missouri, accuses Trinity Healthshare, the Christian group, and Aliera, the for-profit company that markets the plans, for having “sold inherently unfair and deceptive health care plans to Missouri residents, and failed to provide them with the coverage the purchasers believed they would receive.” read more »

$10 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations

DOJ

Centra Health Inc. and Blue Ridge Ear, Nose, Throat and Plastic Surgery, Inc. have agreed to pay the government $9,345,845 to settle claims alleging they violated the False Claims Act and the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act by engaging in improper financial relationships.

These allegations were brought in a lawsuit filed by a former Blue Ridge ENT physician under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government and share in any recovery. The Act permits the government to intervene in, and take over, the whistleblower’s suit or for the whistleblower to pursue the action on the government’s behalf. The relator will receive a share of the settlement. read more »

Banks Gave Richest Clients ‘Concierge Treatment’ for Pandemic Aid

NEW YORK TIMES

The federal government’s $349 billion aid program for small businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic was advertised as first-come, first-served. As many business owners found out, it was anything but.

That’s because some of the nation’s biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and U.S. Bank, prioritized the applications of their wealthiest clients before turning to other loan seekers, according to half a dozen bank employees and financial industry executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the banks’ operations. read more »