Whistleblower News From The Inside — August 29, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
SEC payment to Australian whistleblower highlights differences between U.S. and Australian laws – An award of $3.75 million was paid to an Australian employee of BHP Billiton who revealed that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act at the Beijing Olympics. The announcement that the whistleblower was an Australian citizen comes as the Federal Parliament is being pressured to reform Australia’s whistleblower protection laws. Sydney Morning Herald
SEC charges a purported green tech company with defrauding investors – The Commission alleges that Enviro Board Corp. used baseless financial projections to raise $6 million from investors; the executives paid themselves and their primary salesman $2.6 million of that total. SEC
Improper leaks of government info by Defense Logistics Agency — An investigation by the Project On Government Insight has turned up new information that suggests DLA teamed up with defense contractor Kuwait and Gulf Link to stifle competition from other contractors. POGO
PricewaterhouseCoopers settles bankruptcy trustee allegations for $5.5 billion — The accounting firm was sued over its alleged failure to catch the massive fraud at a mortgage lender that led to the collapse of Colonial Bank, one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history. WSJ
Virginia couple pleads guilty to H1-B visa fraud – Using shell companies that purported to provide IT staffing and services to corporate clients, the defendants obtained H-1B visa petitions on behalf of workers. These workers had to pay the visa fees, legal and administrative costs – as much as $4,000 – in violation of the visa program’s rules. The couple agreed to forfeit the $20.9 million they made from the scheme. Computerworld
South Korean executive found dead hours before scheduled testimony on corruption — Prosecutors are investigating charges of embezzlement, bribes and illegal deals by Lotte Group, a family-controlled conglomerate. The executive apparently committed suicide. NYT