Whistleblower News From The Inside -- April 7, 2017
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Money From Infection-Control Industry Muddies Research into Superbugs — Makers of products using chlorhexidine to fight superbug bacteria in hospitals provide support for scientists who repeatedly find those products to be very effective – even as concerns about safety have mounted. As use of chlorhexidine products has grown, so have concerns about the role of industry-backed research in promoting them. The industry money funding chlorhexidine research muddies the message of the results, including whether they are safe and effective, in the view of many health experts. Reuters
Railwayman Says He Was Fired for Reporting Dangers — Congress amended the Federal Railroad Safety Act in 2008, after public hearings “which demonstrated that railroads have a financial incentive to discourage employees from reporting safety concerns and that they frequently act on such incentive by disparately applying vague workplace rules against employees who report safety concerns.” Now whistleblower Brandon Fresquez says he was fired for reporting to his supervisor that he had found a major defect in railroad tracks, and that the tracks had to be “taken out of service.” In response, he says, the supervisor told him: “If you continue to do this, you know what will happen.” Courthouse News
SEC Charges Muni Bond Underwriter With Gatekeeper Failures — The SEC announced that an Arizona-based brokerage firm, its CEO, and its former underwriter’s counsel have agreed to settle charges related to municipal bond offerings they were underwriting that turned out to be fraudulent. The SEC’s order finds that Lawson Financial Corporation failed in its role as a gatekeeper to conduct reasonable due diligence when underwriting bond offerings to purchase and renovate nursing homes and senior living facilities. The offerings were managed by Atlanta-based businessman Christopher F. Brogdon, who was later charged by the SEC with fraud and faces a court order to repay $85 million to investors. SEC