The U.S. Supreme Court made it a little harder for lawyers to press whistleblower lawsuits over minor violations of government contract terms, but the court's unanimous decision in Universal Health Services v. Escobar might also make it harder for defendants to dismiss suits before entering the expensive evidence-gathering phase known as discovery.
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A federal jury in Boston on Wednesday found construction company owner and executive David Gorski guilty of fraud in a scheme to defraud the government of more than $100 million in contracts that were supposed to go to service-disabled veterans.
A proposed nationwide class of home buyers have accused Bank of America Corp., Countrywide Financial Corp. and appraisal firm LandSafe Inc. of conducting phony appraisals in an attempt to secure more loans, filing a lawsuit in California federal court on Thursday stemming from previously settled whistleblower claims.
And you should not assume we will be amenable to releasing individuals from False Claims Act liability when we settle with the organization. The presumption is flipped in the other direction. Admittedly, this is a departure from past practice, where a settlement would release not only the corporation
The SEC received a whistle-blower complaint alleging that the bank inflated the value of mortgage bonds on its books and masked losses around 2013, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. The SEC is probing how the bank valued government-backed mortgage bonds known as Agency pass-through securities that it amassed after the 2007 U.S. housing crisis.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday that it has awarded $17 million — its second largest award yet — to a former company employee whose detailed tip gave the regulator a major leg up in an investigation and enforcement proceeding.
Even If You Signed A "Release" With Your Company, You Should Still Report Fraud Companies that engage in fraudulent behavior don't want to get caught. And they really don't want to get caught because someone at the company reported their behavior to regulators.
A Texas federal judge on Tuesday determined that banking documents related to a state government investigation into Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC's financial practices, which the company claims to have "inadvertently disclosed" to relators bringing a pair of False Claims Act suits, are not privileged and can be used at trial.
They filed a lawsuit in federal court under the False Claims Act, a Civil-War-era law enacted to combat fraud against the federal government. To encourage whistleblowers to report fraud, it allows a private citizen to bring a lawsuit on the government's behalf; if the suit succeeds, the whistleblower can receive a share of the money that the government recovers.
Since its inception, there have been approximately 15,000 SEC whistleblower claims filed with the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower, and that number is increasing every year. Essentially, your claim – on its own – has a 1 in 15,000 chance of standing out among the many claims that are tossed at the organization each year. The odds of hitting a hole-in-one? You guessed it – about 1 in 15,000.
A whistleblower lawsuit filed against Oracle over its accounting practices underscores the pressures established computer companies face to show that they are growing in the fast-moving business known as the cloud. When the feds closed Brotherly Love Ambulance Inc. in October 2011 amid allegations of Medicare fraud, the owner's son quickly opened his own ambulance company and picked up where his mother had left off.
Two former traders at Deutsche Bank have been hit with federal criminal charges in New York for allegedly working to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
Two former traders at Deutsche Bank have been hit with federal criminal charges in New York for allegedly working to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
Many aspects of blowing the whistle take finesse and patience, and discussing your claim isn't always an option. Sometimes a lawyer is the only person a whistleblower can talk to for several years. Upholding this responsibility requires real discipline, but in the end, it pays off.
Deloitte Consulting will pay $11.38 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it submitted false claims under a General Services Administration (GSA) contract. Deloitte is a nationwide consulting company headquartered in New York City.
The Hagens Berman | Supermint Pro Cycling Team is delighted to announce its selection as one of 24 teams invited to participate in the Giro d'Italia Internazionale Women Elite, the most prestigious and lengthy stage race in the UCI Women's WorldTour.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear State Farm Fire and Casualty Co.'s bid to overturn a finding that the insurance company fraudulently overbilled the government for damage from Hurricane Katrina. The case tests the U.S. False Claims Act, the law that lets whistle-blowers sue on behalf of the federal government and then collect a share of any funds recovered.
A 20-count federal indictment has been unsealed following the arrest of the owner of KMD Healthcare Services Inc., and his brother on charges they engaged in a conspiracy involving fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid billing for ambulance services, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
The Securities and Exchange Commission awarded more than $450,000 jointly to two individuals Friday for a tip that led the SEC to open a corporate accounting investigation and for their help once the investigation was underway. The whistleblower award is the third announced by the SEC during May, bringing the month's payouts to $10 million, the agency said.
One mistake that whistleblowers can make is assuming that the case is closed just because initial information about the fraud at hand has already been given to the government. But the doors are still in fact open.
