Whistleblower News From The Inside — February 26, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Landmark financial whistleblower legislation introduced in Senate and House –  Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Whistleblower Augmented Reward and Non-Retaliation Act of 2016 (WARN Act). This gold standard whistleblower protection bill would provide badly needed teeth in anti-retaliation rights for those who challenge bank fraud.  GAP

UBS faces money laundering and fraud inquiry in Belgium — A Belgian magistrate judge is investigating whether the Swiss bank UBS engaged in fraud, money laundering and other crimes in an effort to help wealthy individuals avoid taxes. NYT

FIFA members approve anti-corruption reforms, limit president’s power– Members of FIFA have overwhelmingly voted to approve new anti-corruption reforms as they prepare to elect a new president. The reform package sets term limits for the FIFA president and other officials — three terms of four years — and replaces the existing executive committee with a 36-member FIFA Council, which will include more women.  NPR

Wells Fargo faces ongoing mortgage probes despite recent FHA settlement — Wells Fargo, in its annual 10-K filing released this week, said it continues to face “investigations or examinations of certain mortgage related practices” from “federal and state government agencies, including the United States Department of Justice.”  Reuters

Eight individuals arrested for health care fraud in Puerto Rico – The indictment charges eight people as part of the continuing fraud investigation, including three employees with Puerto Rico’s Health Department, who are accused of receiving monetary bribes in exchange for certifying individuals as eligible to receive Medicaid health care benefits.  DOJ