Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 15, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Washington State Medicaid FCA reauthorization passes House and Senate – Without legislative action the law will expire on June 30. The reauthorization is strongly supported by AG Bob Ferguson, who points out that it has led to an additional $6.1 million in recoveries since 2012. Washington AG
Office of Special Counsel opposes narrowing whistleblower protections – OSC, the government watchdog charged with protecting federal whistleblowers, has told the Merit Systems Protection Board that the Whistleblower Protection Act applies to those who make disclosures before applying for a federal job. The issue arose in the case of an Army contract employee who accused the Army of mis-using specially-funded equipment and was later denied a federal civilian position. OSC
New Jersey doctor billed feds for unperformed tests; will pay $5.25 million – Dr. Labib E. Riachi is alleged to have billed Medicare and Medicaid for invasive diagnostic tests that were never performed and for physical therapy sessions that were performed by unqualified persons. USAO- NJ
Former Wall St. whistleblowers form advocacy group – Bank Whistleblowers United’s stated goal is to improve the status of financial industry whistleblowers and change the way Wall St. is regulated. They want to end the revolving door between Washington and Wall St. and they call on presidential candidates to reject donations from big banks. The founding members include Citygroup and JPMorgan Chase whistleblowers and a former SEC lawyer. NY Times
CVS will pay $8 million for unlawful distribution of controlled substances – The company’s Maryland pharmacies are alleged to have dispensed controlled substances, including oxycodone, fentanyl and hydrocodone, without ensuring that the prescriptions were issued for a legitimate medical purpose. USAO – Maryland
Former CEO of Swedbank claims he is the whistleblower – Last week Swedbank announced that Michael Wolf, its recently ousted CEO, was referred to financial prosecutors for market abuse. On Saturday Wolf told reporters that he was the whistleblower. The underlying charges involve alleged violations of insider trading rules. The Local-Sweden NY Times