Millions earmarked for public health emergencies were used to pay for unrelated projects, inspector general says

WASHINGTON POST

Federal officials repeatedly raided a fund earmarked for biomedical research in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, spending millions of dollars on unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture, according to the findings of an investigation into a whistleblower complaint shared with The Washington Post.

The investigation, conducted by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services and overseen by the Office of Special Counsel, centered on hundreds of millions of dollars intended for the development of vaccines, drugs and therapies by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA, an arm of the federal health department. read more »

Fiat Chrysler Reaches DOJ Settlement Over Labor Law Violation

WALL STREET JOURNAL

The Justice Department said it has reached a settlement with Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. division in the government’s long-running investigation into corruption among top labor leaders in Detroit.

The U.S. subsidiary, known as FCA US and now part of Stellantis NV, the newly formed car company that absorbed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a merger earlier this month, agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge of conspiring to violate U.S. labor law and pay a $30 million fine, according to statements released Wednesday by the company and the U.S. attorney's office in Detroit. read more »

U.S. charges UK national with bribery scheme to obtain Iraq contracts

REUTERS

An Iraqi-born British national has been criminally charged in New Jersey with involvement in a bribery scheme to obtain millions of dollars of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reconstruction contracts in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

The defendant, Shwan Al-Mulla, and his co-conspirators allegedly received confidential information to get an edge in the bidding process for the contracts, in exchange for more than $1 million in bribes paid from 2007 to 2009 to a USACE employee deployed in Tikrit, Iraq. read more »

California Attorney General Announces Establishment of Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse

SIERRA SUN TIMES

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Wednesday announced the expansion of the department’s existing program to protect California’s most vulnerable citizens and safeguard the state’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal). In response to significant increases in Medi-Cal enrollment and the increased need to protect elders and nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorney General Becerra has directed additional resources toward the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse and has elevated the bureau to a full-fledged division, now called the Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA).

DMFEA will continue its mission of investigating and prosecuting fraud committed against the Medi-Cal program as well as physical or financial abuse or neglect of elders and dependents in care facilities statewide. As part of this effort, Attorney General Becerra today announced the launch of Operation SAFE (Stop Abuse and Fraud of Elders), an initiative aimed at further protecting elders and Californians living in skilled nursing facilities during the pandemic. read more »