JPMorgan Whistle-Blowing Case Resulted in Record $30 Million Award

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s failure to properly inform some rich clients about conflicts of interest has resulted in a record $30 million whistle-blower award by U.S. futures regulators.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will pay out that amount for tips received in the case, in which the bank didn’t properly disclose that it was steering asset-management customers into investments that would be profitable for the bank, according to a person familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan agreed in December 2015 to pay a record $367 million asset-management settlement. That included $100 million that went to the CFTC, described as a $40 million monetary penalty and $60 million in disgorgement. The bank agreed to pay the SEC an additional $267 million. read more »

Basic rules to follow to avoid Ponzi schemes in cryptocurrencies

With cryptocurrencies taking a center stage of the mainstream business press, the chance of some projects being the criminal activity, in fact, rises.

Projects like Biconnect are typical examples with investors now trying to get their money back and sue Bitconnect. But whether the money will ever come back, it's an open question. read more »

Kentucky accuses Cardinal Health of contributing to opioid epidemic

Kentucky’s attorney general on Monday filed a lawsuit against drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc, accusing it of contributing to the opioid epidemic by failing to halt or report suspiciously large or frequent orders by pharmacies of prescription painkillers.

Attorney General Andy Beshear in the lawsuit accused Cardinal of unfair, misleading and deceptive business practices that he said led to the excessive distribution of opioids in Kentucky.

The lawsuit alleged that Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health, one of the country’s largest wholesale drug distributors, ignored red flags that prescription opioids were being diverted for illegal uses, allowing it to profit in the process. read more »

NY judge rules Charter Communications must face lawsuit over slow internet

Charter Communications Inc must face a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general accusing the cable company of providing customers slower-than-advertised internet speeds, a New York state judge ruled.

Justice O. Peter Sherwood of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan rejected Charter’s claim that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman failed to plausibly allege the company had short-changed and misled customers.

He also rejected Charter’s claim that federal law pre-empted the lawsuit. read more »