Mylan hit with racketeering suit over big price hikes of EpiPen

Big drugmaker Mylan was slapped Monday with a class-action racketeering lawsuit that claims the company engaged in an illegal scheme to dramatically increase the list price of its EpiPen anti-allergy device over the past decade.

The suit alleges that the "skyrocketing" list price of EpiPen for consumers was the result of Mylan's payments of rebates to pharmacy benefit managers — including CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx — which handle prescription drug benefit programs for insurance plans.

The suit claims violations of consumer protection laws of all U.S. states, as well as a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. If granted class-action status, the suit would cover all consumers. read more »

SEC Chairman Nominee Won’t Abandon Anti-Bribery Law

SEC chairman nominee Jay Clayton signaled his support for using the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to combat corruption abroad, calling it a “powerful and effective” tool.

Fighting corruption involving companies and foreign governments is an “important governmental mission,” according to his written answers to questions from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee. 

The whistleblower who cost N.J. taxpayers $5.3 million; don't let it happen again

I am the whistleblower who cost the State of New Jersey almost $4 million in legal fees plus a $1.5 million settlement conditioned on not disclosing certain incriminating evidence of wrongdoing by the Christie administration.

I am frankly astounded that my life took this turn. I hope to shed light on the circumstances and prevent such a thing from happening again. read more »

Wells Fargo Told to Rehire Whistleblower, Pay $5.4 Million

The U.S. government ordered Wells Fargo & Co. to reinstate a former bank manager who was fired after reporting suspected illegal behavior to his superiors and on a company hotline.

The manager, who wasn’t identified, was dismissed in 2010 after reporting on incidents of suspected bank, mail and wire fraud by two bankers in the Los Angeles area. read more »

Sanofi Pasteur Agrees to Pay $19.8 Million to Resolve Drug Overcharges to the Department of Veterans Affairs

Sanofi-Pasteur has agreed to pay $19,868,194 to resolve claims that it incorrectly calculated drug prices and thereby overcharged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for drugs under two contracts between 2002 and 2011, the Department of Justice announced today. Sanofi Pasteur, a Delaware corporation headquartered in Swiftwater, Pennyslvania, is the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis.

“It is important that pharmaceutical companies provide complete, accurate, and current information to the VA about the pricing of their drugs,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will ensure that pharmaceutical companies follow the rules for drug pricing when selling to the government.” read more »