Archive

Record-Breaking Year for the SEC Whistleblower Program: What the SEC Annual Report Tells Whistleblowers

Posted 11/16/18

In its 2018 Annual Report to Congress, the SEC Office of the Whistleblower described a “record-breaking year,” with a substantial increase in the number of tips received and the largest whistleblower awards to date. While these numbers illustrate the benefits of the SEC Whistleblower Program, the SEC rightly says that it is “most proud” of the benefits the Whistleblower Program offers to investors, with over...

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Statistics,

World Conference of Accountants in Sydney Australia Discusses Whistleblowing

Posted 11/7/18

At the World Conference of Accountants in Sydney, Australia, Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman led a discussion on "The Truth About Truth Telling.” Inman and the panelists highlighted how accountants must sometimes make hard choices and blow the whistle to maintain a company’s integrity. Often reluctant heroes, whistleblowers play a critical role in protecting society from corporate wrongdoing. However,...

Tagged in: Accounting Fraud, CC Lawyers, International Whistleblowers,

CFTC Whistleblower Program has a Banner Year, but Challenges Remain

Posted 11/6/18

Seventy-five million dollars. That’s how much the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Whistleblower Program paid five whistleblowers - including $30 million to one, the CFTC’s largest award to date-according to the agency’s annual report to Congress for 2018. Also, for the first time, the CFTC awarded a whistleblower living in a foreign country. Without a doubt, 2018 was a banner...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Importance of Whistleblowers, Statistics,

Catch of the Week — Universal American Mortgage Company

Posted 10/19/18

Universal American Mortgage Company (UAMC), a Miami-based mortgage company, agreed on October 19 to a $13.2 million settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by falsely certifying that it complied with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage-insurance requirements in connection with certain loans. UAMC is part of Lennar, one of America’s leading homebuilders. The...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Contract Non-Compliance, FCA Federal, Financial Institution Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Federal Judge — CFTC Can Regulate “Cryptocurrency” Fraud

Posted 10/10/18

In good news for investors, a Massachusetts federal judge recently ruled that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has the authority to fight fraud in the booming virtual currency market. The decision follows on the heels of a ruling in New York where a different federal judge reached the same conclusion. Through the Commodity Exchange Act, Congress authorized the CFTC to fight fraud involving...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Court Decision, Cryptocurrency, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets,

This Week in Bribes — Guilty Pleas in Two Major FCPA Cases

Posted 09/20/18

Major developments occurred last week in two different FCPA cases related to two separate state energy companies. PetroEcuador and PDVSA have both been the subjects of long-running FCPA and money-laundering investigations. In Ecuador, over a dozen PetroEcuador officials have already been charged with accepting bribes in exchange for business with the state oil company. And in Venezuela, the PDVSA scandal has spawned...

Tagged in: FCPA, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

Catch of the Week — United Technologies

Posted 09/14/18

This week’s Catch of the Week goes to the SEC for securing a nearly $14-million settlement with United Technologies, a Connecticut-based building systems and aerospace company, for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The settlement resolves allegations that United Technologies, through various subsidiaries, paid bribes across the globe to advance its elevator and aircraft-engine...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCPA,

Catch of the Week — Former Swiss Bank Executive Helped Launder $1.2 Billion Dollars

Posted 08/27/18

Although the conviction of Paul Manafort and plea of Michael Cohen are certainly the highest profile fraud news of late, our Catch of the Week goes to a guilty plea that captured fewer headlines but involved much higher dollars: Matthias Krull, former executive of Swiss bank Julius Baer Group Ltd., pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his involvement in an international scheme to launder more than a billion dollars. At...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Money Laundering,

Catch of the Week: RBS Agrees to Pay $4.9 Billion

Posted 08/17/18

This week’s Department of Justice “Catch of the Week” goes to The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS), who agreed to pay $4.9 billion to settle claims that RBS misled investors in the underwriting and issuing of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2008. See DOJ Press Release. The settlement’s statement of facts details how RBS routinely made misrepresentations and omissions...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Housing and Mortgage Fraud,

DOJ Investigation of Pharma Companies for Alleged Iraqi Terrorism Funding – Did a Whistleblower Help?

Posted 08/17/18

Pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Roche, and Johnson & Johnson were sued in the fall of 2017 by a group of military veterans and others who alleged that the companies paid bribes to win contracts with the Iraqi Ministry of Health – bribes which, according to the lawsuit, financed terrorism that damaged the plaintiffs. As such, the plaintiffs alleged, the payments amounted to aiding and abetting...

Tagged in: FCPA, Government Investigation, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud,

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Record-Breaking Year for the SEC Whistleblower Program: What the SEC Annual Report Tells Whistleblowers

World Conference of Accountants in Sydney Australia Discusses Whistleblowing

CFTC Whistleblower Program has a Banner Year, but Challenges Remain

Catch of the Week — Universal American Mortgage Company

Federal Judge — CFTC Can Regulate “Cryptocurrency” Fraud

This Week in Bribes — Guilty Pleas in Two Major FCPA Cases

Catch of the Week — United Technologies

Catch of the Week — Former Swiss Bank Executive Helped Launder $1.2 Billion Dollars

Catch of the Week: RBS Agrees to Pay $4.9 Billion

DOJ Investigation of Pharma Companies for Alleged Iraqi Terrorism Funding – Did a Whistleblower Help?

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