Justice Department Announces Additional Distribution of more than $488 Million to Victims of Madoff Ponzi Scheme

DOJ

The Department of Justice announced today that the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) began its sixth distribution of approximately $488 million in funds forfeited to the U.S. Government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme, bringing the total distributed to almost $3.2 billion to nearly 37,000 victims worldwide.

For decades, Bernard L. Madoff used his position as chairman of BLMIS, the investment advisory business he founded in 1960, to steal billions from his clients.  On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family and select members of his inner circle. read more »

Health care company owner to pay $1 million to settle False Claims Act case

DOJ

The former owner of Providence Home Health and Providence Hospice has agreed to pay $1.05 million to settle claims she knowingly and willfully paid improper kickbacks for referrals of Medicare patients to her businesses, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick along with Special Agent in Charge Miranda Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Under the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action known as a qui tam on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. In this case, the relators will share $168,000 as a result of the settlement. read more »

The Smoking Gun in the Facebook Antitrust Case

WIRED

Imagine a popular social network that takes privacy super seriously. By default, your posts are visible only to people in your real-life community. Not only does the company not use tracking cookies, but it promises it never will. It even announces that future changes to the privacy policy will be put to a vote by users before implementation.

It’s hard to imagine now, but such a social network once existed. It was called Facebook. The company’s journey from privacy-focused startup to mass surveillance platform is at the heart of the long-awaited antitrust case filed today by a group of 46 states, along with the District of Columbia and Guam. The bipartisan coalition, led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that Facebook achieved its dominance through a years-long strategy of anticompetitive tactics, including its acquisitions of budding rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp. As it built up that dominant position, the suit argues, it began offering users a worse and worse privacy experience. read more »