Whistleblower News from the Inside - October 17, 2014
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Whistleblower nurse describes chaos at TX Ebola hospital – A nurse at the hospital said she watched the hospital “violate basic principles of nursing care, of medical care,” saying that materials used to treat suspected Ebola patients were left festering in corridors for days, suspected Ebola patients were wheeled around the hospital without protection, and doctors were told it was acceptable to move patients between rooms without disinfecting. Telegraph
SEC chair praises “enormously successful” whistleblower program – During a visit in Toronto on Thursday to speak at a conference organized by the Ontario Securities commission, SEC head Mary Jo White said the program in the United States “has yielded very significant information on very serious securities fraud.” Financial Post
Prison for man accused of forging Jasper Johns artwork – Foundry owner sentenced to two and a half years for his attempt to sell an unauthorized copy of Jasper Johns’ iconic “Flag” sculpture for $10 million. Courthouse News
SEC charges Athena Capital Research with fraudulent trading – The SEC sanctioned a New York City-based high frequency trading firm for placing a large number of aggressive, rapid-fire trades in the final two seconds of almost every trading day during a six-month period to manipulate the closing prices of thousands of NASDAQ-listed stocks. SEC
Merck settles Medicaid fraud charges – Merck’s Organon unit agreed to pay $31 million to several states for allegedly failing to include discounts in its pricing and paying kickbacks to nursing home pharmacies to encourage use of its antidepressant. Wall Street Journal
Public anger may lead to bigger banking fines in U.K. – Chief of U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said the regulator consults with the U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority banking supervisor to ensure fines don’t put banks at risk of failure, but notes that public outcry may lead to larger fines similar to those levied in the US. Bloomberg