U.S. high court to review scope of Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether corporate insiders who blow the whistle on their employers are shielded from retaliation if they only report alleged misconduct internally rather than to the government's Securities and Exchange Commission.

The justices will hear Digital Realty Trust Inc's appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of Paul Somers, an executive fired by the San Francisco-based company after he complained internally about alleged misconduct by his supervisor but never reported the matter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The case hinges on the SEC's whistleblower protection rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.  read more »

Infosys Will Pay New York $1 Million for Visa, Tax Violations

The global outsourcing and consulting company Infosys Ltd. will pay New York state $1 million to settle a whistle-blower case alleging that the company violated U.S. visa requirements and underpaid state taxes, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced June 23.

The company allegedly circumvented visa requirements by using B-1 visa holders to do work that should otherwise have been performed by H-1B visa holders, according to the settlement 

The case, filed in state court under the False Claims Act, alleged that Infosys underpaid state taxes because employees working under a B-1 visa were paid less than those under H-1B. It is the latest in a number of high-profile qui tam tax cases pursued by Schneiderman, who has created a bureau to pursue False Claims Act and fraud cases.  

Fraud Trial for Martin Shkreli, ‘Most Hated Man in America,’ Begins Monday

Martin Shkreli, often described as "the most hated man in America," will spark many Americans' interest in securities and wire fraud for the first time Monday when he stands trial in a federal courthouse.

The former pharmaceutical chief executive will face charges of securities fraud in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, more than a year and a half after he was arrested in December 2015. Jury selection begins Monday morning.

Shkreli, 34, will confront an eight-count indictment for cheating the drug company Retrophin, which he founded, out of millions of dollars to pay investors in two hedge funds he ran. He is also accused of defrauding those investors in what prosecutors are calling a Ponzi scheme.  read more »

Gold Plunges After 1.8 Million Ounces Were Traded in One Minute

Gold sank like a stone at 9 a.m. in London after a huge spike in volume in New York futures that traders said was probably the result of a "fat finger," or erroneous order.

Trade shot up to 1.8 million ounces of gold in just a minute, a level not reached even with the surprise election of U.S. President Donald Trump or Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

“No one has a clue, apart from the unfortunate individual that pressed the wrong button,” David Govett, head of precious metals trading at Marex Spectron Group in London, said of the spike in volume. Thin activity and automated trading may exacerbate such moves, he said.

Others said a trader may have made a larger order than intended, or underestimated the market’s ability to absorb so much gold.  read more »