Whistleblower News From The Inside -- September 28, 2015
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
“Smoke and mirrors” hid cleaning factory’s water pollution from public – Whistleblower reveals that Portland, Oregon’s ALSCO plant, which cleaned linens and uniforms, directed workers to flush waste water and add hydrogen peroxide in order to falsify readings for city inspectors: a practice known at the plant as “smoke and mirrors.” KGW.
SEC charges Hitachi with violations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) – “The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Tokyo-based conglomerate Hitachi, Ltd. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) when it inaccurately recorded improper payments to South Africa’s ruling political party in connection with contracts to build two multi-billion dollar power plants.” SEC.
Contrary to media stereotyping, “[t]he average whistleblower is an engaged well-performing employee, not a disgruntled ex-employee with an axe to grind” – New study from The Network finds that “92% of those employees report internally first, not to a government agency like the Securities and Exchange Commission, because . . . they are motivated by the fact it is “a big enough crime,” not the potential to receive a substantial monetary award.” MarketWatch.
Third fraudster sentenced to prison in illegal scheme to create and sell fake biodiesel credits – Complex scheme included false claims of biodiesel production and importation, fraudulent generation of biodiesel credits (renewable identification numbers or RINs) of significant value, false representations of blending biodiesel with petroleum diesel, sale and exportation of biodiesel without credits to the united States worth over $34 million, and money laundering. DOJ
Volkswagen whistleblowers had given EPA and California authorities diesel emissions data in 2014 – Pair studying performance of clean emissions tech discovered 40-times excessive emissions and submitted their findings both to the EPA and the California Air Resources Board in May 2014; Volkswagen had ostensibly implemented a field fix to the “defeat device” in December 2014. International Business Times.
Two banks to pay over $18 million in penalties under Swiss Bank Program — “’It is abundantly clear from the agreements reached to date that for decades, many foreign financial institutions engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to facilitate the concealment of accounts owned by U.S. taxpayers, and to profit from these relationships,’ said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. ‘With each agreement reached under the Swiss Bank Program, and each U.S. accountholder who initiates and completes a voluntary disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service, we move a step closer to eliminating secret undisclosed accounts.’” DOJ.
Pharmacist who exposed VA facility that torched bags of loose drugs is fired and excluded – “A pharmacist who was fired from a VA medical facility earlier this year for exposing horrendous patient safety problems has now been barred from entering the premises altogether.” Daily Caller