Whistleblower Group

December 31, 2014

Gerber Legendary Blades, a division of Fiskars Brands Inc., agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle allegations it knowingly failed to immediately report to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) a safety hazard associated with Fiskars’ Gator Combo Axe. According to the government, beginning as early as 2005 and continuing over the next several years, Fiskars received but failed to report consumer complaints and warranty claims indicating the knife fell out of the Axe handle while the Axe was being used to chop, pound or hammer, causing serious injury to users.DOJ

December 29, 2014

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha agreed to plead guilty and pay a $59.4 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for roll-on, roll-off cargo, such as cars and trucks, to and from the US and elsewhere. NYK is the third company to plead guilty in the government’s investigation, bringing the total agreed-upon fines to over $135 million. DOJ

December 23, 2014

Kentucky businessman Wilbur Anthony Huff pleaded guilty to various tax crimes that caused more than $50M in losses to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and a massive fraud that involved the bribery of bank officials, the fraudulent purchase of an insurance company, and the defrauding of insurance regulators. DOJ

December 23, 2014

US Congressman Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return by fraudulently underreporting $900,000 in restaurant gross receipts and lowering payroll taxes through ‘off-the-book’ payments in connection with the Manhattan restaurant he owned called Healthalicious. DOJ

December 23, 2014

Former FBI special agent Robert Lustyik pleaded guilty to bribery charges, admitting that he provided internal law enforcement documents and other confidential information about a prominent citizen of Bangladesh for use by a political rival in exchange for cash. DOJ

December 22, 2014

Bank Leumi, a major Israeli international bank, admitted that it conspired to assist US taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and elsewhere around the world. The criminal conduct spanned over a 10 year period and included an array of services and products designed to keep US taxpayer accounts concealed at Bank Leumi Group’s locations in Israel, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the US. The bank agreed to pay a total of $270 million in fines and penalties and to cease to provide banking and investment services for all accounts held by US taxpayers. DOJ

December 22, 2014

French power and transportation company Alstom S.A. pleaded guilty today and agreed to pay $772M to resolve charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through a widespread scheme involving tens of millions of dollars in bribes in countries around the world, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Bahamas. Whistleblower Insider