Whistleblower News from the Inside - June 20, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

False Claims Act lawsuit against Lance Armstrong can proceed — A federal judge has rejected Lance Armstrong’s attempt to dismiss a $100 million False Claims Act lawsuit filed against him.  USA Today

NJ arrests owner of Diagnostic Imaging Affiliates for Medicaid Fraud — Rehan Zuberi and 12 associates are charged with bribing doctors to send patients for MRIs, PET scans and other unnecessary tests involving 30,000 fraudulent Medicaid claims worth $8M.  Star Ledger

DOJ fraud case against BofA to continue –The lawsuit accuses Bank of America of civil fraud in the sale of mortgage securities – Judge writes that this scheme among banks “nearly brought down the banking system in 2008.” Reuters

Produce company scammed government programs  – According to a whistleblower, since at least 2006 — longer than previously thought — Adams Produce Co. orchestrated a scheme to overcharge the government by 30 to 40 percent for fresh produce for public schools, the military and the Women, Infants and Children nutrition assistance program.  The Packer

Is the OSHA whistleblower protection system broken? – Op-ed says that studies on the effectiveness of the whistleblower protection program showed that there were “systemic” failures in the program with little hope for improvement.  Huffington Post

FINRA considers strengthening its penalties — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is weighing the use of stronger penalties after an SEC commissioner criticized the watchdog for sanctions that are “financially insignificant.”  Wall Street Journal