Whistleblower News From The Inside -- December 1, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Texas home mortgage entities and CEO liable for $92M – A federal jury found two Texas-based home mortgage entities, Americus Mortgage Corp. and AllQuest Home Mortgage Corp., and their founder and CEO, Jim C. Hodge, liable for FCA and FIRREA violations; the jury awarded over $92M in damages, including over $7M against Hodge in his personal capacity. USAO SDNY
As a distracted Brazil mourns, lawmakers gut corruption bill – Shortly after Brazilian President Michel Temer declared a three-day mourning period for the Chapecoense players and others killed in a plane crash, Brazil’s scandal-plagued Congress held a marathon legislative session and gutted what was meant to be a pioneering anticorruption bill. The New York Times
Hospice with ties to Dr. Fata settles FCA suit for $200K – Michigan hospice provider Vitas Health Corporation Midwest allegedly paid kickbacks to imprisoned former oncologist Dr. Farid Fata, aka “Dr. Death,” in exchange for referrals. Fata administered chemotherapy to cancer-free patients. The Oakland Press
Malaysians worry Trump DOJ will drop corruption investigation into his “favorite prime minister” – Malaysia’s prime minister Najib Razak, embroiled in a multi-billion-dollar corruption case and subject to calls for his resignation from hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, has one thing to be grateful for: his onetime golfing partner is the next president of the United States, whose Justice Department happens to be pursuing that very same corruption case. Quartz
Wyndham Worldwide whistleblower awarded $20M in retaliation suit – A jury awarded whistleblower Patricia Williams $20M for retaliation she suffered as a result of exposing resort giant Wyndham Worldwide’s fraudulent sales scheme, which involved targeting vulnerable senior citizens to buy timeshares, in some cases even convincing them to upon new credit cards to do so. ABC 7 San Francisco
Regulators settle fraud complaint against Contura execs – West Virginia Environmental Protection Agency regulators softened accusations of fraud against the top executives of Wyoming’s Contura Energy after agreeing to a $15M settlement. Casper Star Tribune