Whistleblower News from the Inside - November 4, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Hyundai and Kia fined for misrepresenting fuel efficiency — In the largest-ever penalty for a Clean Air Act violation, the Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors will pay the government a combined $300M as part of a settlement for overstating vehicle fuel-economy standards on 1.2 million cars.  NYT

Bio-Rad Labs to pay $55M to settle FCPA charges — The California-based medical diagnostics company agreed to pay $14.35M to the DOJ and $40.7M to the SEC to settle charges it bribed foreign officials in Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand in order to win business.  DOJ

SCOTUS to hear air marshal whistleblower case today — Supreme Court will hear arguments today in former air marshal Robert MacLean’s case claiming he was fired for blowing the whistle on the Transportation Security Administration for pulling marshals from flights after warning them about a possible hijacking plot.  USA Today

New whistleblower charges against Wellcare — Six former employees of WellCare Health Plans, which paid $400M million to settle past charges of health-care fraud, have brought False Claims Act charges alleging they were fired for refusing to deny payments for medically necessary hospital stays.  WUSF

Former Florida Medicaid officer wins whistleblower suit against the state — Charles Ballenger claimed the Florida Attorney General’s office fired him after complaining the office was not investigating Medicaid providers and a federal jury agreed, awarding him nearly $400,000.  WCTV

Former Columbia Business School professor charged with fraud — Gregory Rorke, former Columbia adjunct professor and owner of the software company Navagate was arrested Friday on securities and wire fraud charges.  FCPA Blog