Former Rolls-Royce Managers Plead Guilty to U.S. Bribery Charges

Case concerns contract award for gas pipeline in Central Asia
U.K. group earlier paid $800 million to settle foreign probes

Two former Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc executives pleaded guilty to U.S. charges that they orchestrated international bribes at the engine maker for more than a decade.

The cases, also involving three other individuals, focus on efforts to secure a $145 million contract to power a gas pipeline from Kazakhstan to China. The action comes about 10 months after Rolls agreed to pay $800 million to resolve probes in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil. The bribes occurred from 1999 to 2013 in Africa, the Mideast and South America, prosecutors said. read more »

Fighter-Jet Whistleblower Case Lands in Fifth Circuit

With Lockheed Martin in the crosshairs of a whistleblower who claims its fighter-jet program defrauded the United States of more than $50 million, attorneys for the defense giant urged a Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday to affirm a lower court’s dismissal of the case. read more »                               

Outcome Health sued by major investors

Outcome Health investors sued the company on Tuesday, charging that the startup committed fraud in order to raise almost $500 million earlier this year.

Units of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) and Pritzker Group Venture Capital, among others, filed a lawsuit in New York state court against Outcome, company CEO Rishi Shah and current President Shradha Agarwal, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago-based Outcome installs video screens at medical offices and pharmaceutical companies, who pay to run ads on the screens aimed at waiting patients. Per The Wall Street Journal, the plaintiffs contend that the company misled advertising pharmaceutical companies by charging them for ads on more screens than the company has installed. Outcome employees also have been accused of supplying inflated metrics on how well ads performed and providing inaccurate reports regarding where the ads ran and how effective the ads were. read more »

SEC Warns Investors About Paid-to-Click Scams

Agency Obtains Court Order to Stop “Ad Packs” Ponzi Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission is warning investors to beware online “paid-to-click” scams that promise an easy payday by merely purchasing a membership or an advertising product up front and then clicking on a certain number of online ads each day.

The SEC’s investor alert explains that these online advertising programs may have little to no revenues besides membership fees or sales of “ad packs” and may be nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. read more »