Whistleblower News from the Inside - July 22, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

New NSA whistleblower comes forward — Former State Department official John Napier Tye warns that the National Security Agency is illegally spying on Americans’ digital communications under the auspices of an executive order from 1981.  The Atlantic

Halifax Health to settle whistleblower case — $100 million and 5 years of litigation later, the hospital has decided to settle the remaining claims in a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that it engaged in Medicare fraud and improper contracts with physicians.  Daytona Beach News-Journal

Whistleblower program for the banking industry? — The recent BNP settlement with the government for $9 billion has become a catalyst for some to push for whistleblower protections and rewards for reports of wrongdoing by banks.  Reuters

Alabama health system and physicians settle False Claims Act lawsuit — Infirmary Health Systems and Diagnostic Physicians Group have agreed to settle a whistleblower lawsuit for $24.5 million over allegations that they engaged in a kickback scheme to defraud Medicare.  Business Insurance

Snowden and Ellsberg ask hackers for help — Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg (who released the Pentagon Papers) are asking computer programmers to make it easier for whistleblowers to come forward.  CNN Money

Clarifications sought for SEC whistleblower program — A coalition of NGOs and others have asked the Securities & Exchange Commission to specify how its whistleblower protections work and to strengthen prohibitions on employment confidentiality agreements that can impede whistleblowing.  Wall Street Journal

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