Whistleblower News From The Inside -- November 9, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Senators demand Mylan repay DOD $50M for EpiPens — Three U.S. Senators—Grassley (R-Iowa), Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Blumenthal (D-Conn.)—demanded EpiPen manufacturer Mylan repay the government for money spent on the devices; Pentagon spending on EpiPens rose from $9M to $57M in the last 8 years, in large part due to reduced rebates from Mylan resulting from Mylan’s misclassification of the life-saving device as generic rather than brand-name. STAT
Mother and son sentenced to prison time in pharmacy fraud case — Niurka Fernandez and Roberto Alvarez received prison terms of 120 and 30 months respectively for their participation in a $9.5M Medicare scheme through which patients were recruited to receive medically unnecessary prescriptions. DOJ
Aerospace part manufacturer settles FCA case for $2.7M — Aerospace manufacturer AIC settled allegations it lied about inspections of parts used in US military planes and missiles; a former AIC employee who brought the case will receive $621K for blowing the whistle. USAO Central District of California
Cognizant self-reports FCPA violations to the SEC — Technology consulting giant Cognizant revealed it made approximately $5M of improper payments to gain permits and building licenses in India; the admission comes shortly after the company’s September announcement to the SEC it was investigating potential FCPA violations. The Indian Express
US Department of Commerce investigates Chinese steelmakers — A Commerce Department probe seeks to determine whether Chinese steel companies are avoiding US tariffs by shipping metals bound for the US through Vietnam. Steel imports from Vietnam have risen 1,572% in the past year, correlating with increased Chinese steel shipments to Vietnam. Wall Street Journal
In wake of FCPA settlement, clients pull $2.5B out of Och-Ziff Capital — Off-Ziff Capital saw an approximately 10% decrease of managed assets following the announcement of a September 29th settlement with the DOJ and SEC related to bribes the hedge fund paid to win investments in Africa. Bloomberg