Whistleblowers Blog
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Puckering Up
Oct 2
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
“Whether to blow or not to blow – that intriguing issue triggered heated debate at a session on criminal fraud and the global economic recession at this week’s International Bar Association annual meeting” in Dublin, Ireland Reuben Guttman reports. See his October 2, 2012 blog in The European Lawyer.
Should the US practice of paying bounties to whistleblowers be adopted by other countries?
Currently three US laws provide for bounties to be paid to individuals or entities providing information leading to the recovery of government … -
“Backing Barack”
Oct 2
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
The US President wins some heavyweight economic support as Reuben Guttman sees the curtain rise on the International Bar Association’s annual gathering in Dublin, Ireland. See Reuben Guttman’s October 1, 2012 blog in The European Lawyer.
The International Bar Association opened its annual convention with keynote speaker and Nobel Prize winning economics professor Joseph Stiglitz announcing his support for the re-election of US President Barack Obama.
Speaking before several thousand attorneys from across the globe, Prof Stieglitz ca…
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Movie Stars, Beautiful Weather, and Expanded Protection for Whistleblowers: California Amends its False Claims Act to Conform to Its Federal Counterpart
Sep 24
Posted by: James Sugarman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Monday, September 24th, 2012
In a move which is likely to be the first in a wave of similar changes to the False Claims Acts of states across the country, on August 16, 2012, the California Assembly passed a bill (AB 2492) amending California’s state False Claims Act, Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 12650-12656 (“CAL FCA”) to largely conform to the provisions of the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). According to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, states with FCAs “at least as effective” as the federal FCA qualify for an additional 10 percent of any recoveries r…
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Nothing for Something Means Something: Court orders Cornell University’s Medical College to pay treble damages for misuse of NIH grant money
Sep 19
Posted by: James Sugarman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Wednesday, September 19th, 2012
On September 5, 2012, in U.S. ex rel. Daniel Feldman v. Wilfred van Gorp and Cornell University Medical College, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s judgment finding that Cornell University’s Weill Medical College and Dr. Wilfred van Gorp, a former faculty member, submitted false claims on grant renewal applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The relator, a former research fellow who worked for Dr. van Gorp at Cornell, alleged that statements made in these applications were false because the fellows…
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Changing the Debate
Sep 6
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Thursday, September 6th, 2012
CHARLOTTE, NC — Twenty-eight years ago, then New York Governor Mario Cuomo gave a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco with a speech that will be remembered for the ages. But that speech, which focused on the demise of an industrial economy, was built on passion and emotion.
Last night, Former President Bill Clinton gave a speech to delegates that will be remembered for the ages, but for different reasons. It was a speech based on facts and logic. It was a speech which established protocols for how voters s…
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It’s all about Ohio
Sep 5
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
CHARLOTTE, NC — Inside the Democratic National Convention here it is all about winning voters in the State of Ohio. Democratic strategists now believe that if President Obama does not carry the State of Florida, Ohio is a must-win state. While Democratic leaders are guardedly optimistic about Obama’s chances in this rust belt state, they are taking no chances.
While the focus of the presidential race has been on healthcare, the Obama people refocused the debate last night beginning with a speech by former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland who re…
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Democratic Convention Update
Sep 5
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
CHARLOTTE, NC — Inside the Democratic National Convention, the Obama campaign finally picked a mid-west issue that may make a difference in the presidential election campaign. Starting with former Ohio Governor, Ted Strickland, a parade of speakers hammered on the auto industry rescue as a single accomplishment that will be hard for the Republicans to challenge as unsuccessful.
With the Republicans attacking Obamacare, Democrats needed to find something that was an undisputed success. With the Ohio vote in the balance, the auto industry res…
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From the Democratic Convention
Sep 4
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Tuesday, September 4th, 2012
CHARLOTTE, NC — Somewhere in the air between Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC — the site of the Democratic National Convention which starts tomorrow (September 3rd) — a flight attendant leaned into a cart pushing it up the aisle as the plane tilted upward gaining altitude. I thought of all the people on the plane from delegates, to media, to hanger’s on, this political season is about this flight attendant and working people like her. For all who participate in the political system, there are exponentially more who stand on the sidelines and…
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CMS and the Budetti Blunders
Aug 1
Posted by: Reuben Guttman | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Senators Orrin Hatch and Tom Coburn have raised some concerns about a multimillion dollar anti-fraud command center opened up today. Complete with a giant screen estimated to have cost hundreds of thousands, the center will house the HHS’ infamous $77 million dollar computer system which, as of last Christmas, had stopped one check for $7,591. Peter Budetti, the Deputy Administrator of Program Integrity at the CMS(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), a.k.a. the fraud czar, said that the center is expected to pay for itself many ti…
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Blowing the Whistle on Education Fraud
Jul 23
Posted by: Shehzad Roopani | Number of Comments: Comments Off
Category: Whistleblowers Blog | Date Posted: Monday, July 23rd, 2012
The U.S. government provides $150 billion in loans per year to students participating in higher education programs. This funding is only available to students attending accredited programs. Despite the large amount of federal funding at stake, the Department of Education does not itself accredit educational programs. Rather, the Department of Education relies on accrediting agencies, which are federally-approved private organizations, to assure taxpayers and students that federal financial aid is going to qualified institutions.
Progra…