Whistleblower News
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Psychic Investing
May 20
Posted by: David Fischer | Number of Comments: Be the first to Comment
Category: Whistleblower Articles, Whistleblower News, Whistleblowers Blog, Whistleblowing | Date Posted: Monday, May 20th, 2013
This post was written by our own Justin Victor.
Last month the SEC announced that it had filed a civil action against Sean Morton, an individual who engaged in a multi-million dollar investment scheme premised on Mr. Morton’s self-proclaimed psychic abilities. Mr. Morton solicited potential investors in one of his several investment companies claiming that he would be able to use his psychic powers to provide investment guidance to his investing team, touting fictitious success in predicting previous rises and falls in the stock market. …
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If You Cannot Change Label, Change The Guidelines
May 17
Posted by: David Fischer | Number of Comments: Be the first to Comment
Category: Federal False Claims Acts, Whistleblower Articles, Whistleblower News, Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Friday, May 17th, 2013
The Washington Post has a lengthy article in today’s paper regarding the extensive financial ties and conflicts of interest between the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the publisher of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies have given substantial sums of money to the publisher as well as the doctors who serve on the committees that draft the DSM guidelines. Not surprisingly, the new DSM has numerous changes that benefit the pharmaceutical companies…
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Foreign Whistleblowers Hold Multi-Nationals Accountable and Get Rewarded For Their Efforts
May 6
Posted by: David Fischer | Number of Comments: Be the first to Comment
Category: Whistleblower Articles, Whistleblower News, Whistleblowers Blog, Whistleblowing | Date Posted: Monday, May 6th, 2013
This post was written by our own Justin Victor.
HELP WANTED! The United States government is seeking the help of individuals who have information about multi-national companies that pay bribes to foreign officials to get business, or cheat the United States out of taxes or the benefit of bargained for products or services. Those interested need not be citizens of the United States or reside in the United States to apply.
Though an ad like this sounds farfetched, the United States is effectively do this. As the United States struggles w… -
Q&A: Whistle-blower lawyer on Amgen settlement, False Claims Act
Apr 18
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblower News | Date Posted: Thursday, April 18th, 2013
This interview with Reuben Guttman was conducted by journalist Terry Baynes with Thomson Reuters.
California-based drugmaker Amgen Inc agreed on Tuesday to pay $24.9 million to settle allegations that it provided kickbacks to long-term care pharmacy providers to entice them to switch patients to its anemia drug Aranesp. Whistle-blower Frank Kurnik, a longtime Amgen employee, and the Justice Department accused the company of giving pharmacy providers rebates based on their volume of Aranesp prescriptions.
Reuben Guttman, a lawyer at Grant …
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The False Claims Act, Foreign Made Goods And Antidumping Duties
Apr 17
Posted by: David Fischer | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Federal False Claims Acts, Whistleblower News, Whistleblowers Blog, Whistleblowing | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Two recent False Claims Act cases involving foreign made goods highlight the role of the False Claims Act when foreign made goods are sold to the United States government. The first case involved the sale of goods made in China to the government. In late March, the government and CDW-government (“CDW-G”) settled a False Claims Act case for $5.66 million. One of the settled claims was that CDW-G (a subsidiary of CDW Corp.), “sold products to the United States that were manufactured in China and other countries that are prohibited…
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$24.9 Million Settlement with Biotechnology Company Amgen, Inc. Resolves South Carolina False Claims Act Lawsuit
Apr 16
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblower News | Date Posted: Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
PRESS NOTICE
BILL NETTLES
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
1441 Main Street, Suite 500 * Columbia, SC 29201 * (803) 929-3000April 16, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT PERSON: Fran Trapp
(803) 929-3000
Fran.Trapp@usdoj.govCOLUMBIA, South Carolina —-United States Attorney Bill Nettles announced a $24.9 million settlement with Amgen, Inc., a California based biotechnology company. Amgen, Inc. agreed to the settlement to address allegations it paid kickbacks to long-term care pharmacy providers Omnicare Inc., Ph…
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FCA Whistleblowers Forced To Go It Alone As DOJ Drags Feet
Apr 15
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblower News | Date Posted: Monday, April 15th, 2013
By Dietrich Knauth
This article was published in Law360 on April 12, 2013.
With the rise in whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act, the U.S. Department of Justice is under pressure to unseal cases in which it hasn’t made a definitive decision whether or not to intervene, forcing whistleblowers to litigate more fraud cases on their own.
Congress and the courts have relaxed the standards for whistleblower eligibility under the FCA, and the lowered standards, along with the increased publicity of high-dollar settlements, has cause…
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Whistleblower Bounties Will Prevent Future Fraud and Scandals
Apr 15
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblower News | Date Posted: Monday, April 15th, 2013
By Lianna Brinded
This article was published on April 15, 2013 in the UK’s International Busines Times.
Guttman says the UK has a lot to learn from the US on whistleblower incentives. The only way to prevent large scale scandals, such as Libor fixing and major financial fraud demonstrated by the collapse of Enron, is by installing bounty programmes that reward those who risk their careers to flag up wrongdoing, says one of the world’s most prominent whistleblower attorneys.
Speaking with the IBTimes UK, Reuben Guttman at law firm Grant…
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Dr. Caroline Poplin’s Letter to the NY Times Editor in response to David Goldhill’s Op Ed entitled “The Health Benefits That Cut Your Pay”
Feb 22
Posted by: Caroline Poplin | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblower News | Date Posted: Friday, February 22nd, 2013
To the Editor:
With the best intentions, David Goldhill has described a free-market fantasy of health care. Market prices are based on power. In the United States today, hospitals and large doctor groups wield enormous market power, and they exercise it ruthlessly; consumers have none. Hospitals charge whatever the market will bear; uninsured patients pay the highest prices.
Large insurers bargain for “discounts” from prices set high enough so that hospitals still profit, and pass some of the “savings” on to large employers, who also … -
Antitrust Whistleblower Protections
Feb 14
Posted by: David Fischer | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Federal False Claims Acts, Whistleblower Articles, Whistleblower News, Whistleblowers Blog, Whistleblowing | Date Posted: Thursday, February 14th, 2013
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently reintroduced legislation that would provide, if passed, protection to whislteblowers who provide information to federal prosecutors in criminal antitrust investigations. The proposed Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2013 (pdf file) would permit an employee to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor about suspected retaliation for cooperating with the Department of Justice. As stated by Sen. Leahy:
It would prohibit an employer from retaliating against …