Whistleblower Group
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Whistleblower News from the Inside - November 7, 2014
Posted 11/7/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Whistleblowers say airbag manufacturer hid risk of failure – Two former employees say Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata secretly conducted tests on its airbags and found that the steel inflaters cracked, which can lead to rupture, but Takata executives ordered the technicians to delete the testing data from their computers and to throw away the evidence. NYT
Home health...
DOJ Catch of the Week – Hyundai and Kia
Posted 11/7/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
This week's Department of Justice "catch of the week" goes to South Korea's top two automakers Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation. On Monday, the two companies agreed to pay a $100 million civil penalty to settle charges they violated the Clean Air Act by selling more than one million vehicles that will emit roughly 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in...
November 6, 2014
MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC, and its law firm agreed to settle charges that they used deceptive sales claims and phony legal threats in letters that accused thousands of small businesses around the United States of patent infringement. According to the FTC, the company bought patents relating to network computer scanning technology, and then told thousands of small businesses that they were likely infringing the patents and should purchase a license. In more than 9,000 letters sent under the names of numerous MPHJ subsidiaries falsely represented that many other companies had already agreed to pay thousands of dollars for licenses. FTCProtecting Public Health Service Whistleblowers -- Another Lesson from the Ebola Scare
Posted 11/6/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
There have been many invaluable take-aways from the Ebola horror that has struck so much pain and fear around the globe. But one little talked about lesson is the need to better protect those scientists on the front lines of trying to contain this deadly scourge, and who unfortunately may be battling similar outbreaks in the future. We are talking about the members of the Public...
Bio-Rad Pays Big for International Bribery Scheme
Posted 11/6/14
By Marlene Koury
Medical diagnostics and life sciences manufacturing and sales company Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has agreed to pay $55 million to settle related SEC and DOJ charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). In the SEC matter, California-based Bio-Rad agreed to pay $40.7 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to resolve allegations that the company made improper payments...
November 6, 2014
The CFTC obtained a restraining order freezing assets and prohibiting the destruction or concealment of books and records of Emini Experts LLC, Capital Trading Concepts LLC, and Dante S. Giovannetti, all of Orlando, Florida, in a case involving an alleged fraud scheme. CFTCNovember 6, 2014
The Florida Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Consumer Collection Advocates, Corp. and its principal Michael Robert Ettus for allegedly defrauding consumers who were victims of previous frauds or scams. The FTC has filed a parallel lawsuit against CCA. According to the state, the company’s actions violate Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act by misrepresenting defendants’ business status and purported fee recovery services and making false and misleading statements to induce consumers to pay for goods or services. According to the FTC, the company has violated the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule by requesting or receiving upfront payment from consumers for services represented to recover or assist in the return of money paid for by the consumer in a previous telemarketing transaction. FL AGNovember 6, 2014
Michigan Attorney General announced the distribution of $747,000 from the State’s Foreclosure Scam Restitution Fund to compensate 36 southeast Michigan victims of mortgage modification fraud from Nationwide Consulting, LLC. The operators of the business, Kenneth Sandoval and Zacharia Ortiz were both previously convicted for their role in the scam. MI AGCalifornia Court Follows More Expansive Take on Who Can Be an SEC Whistleblower
Posted 11/6/14
By Jason Enzler
A California federal district court ruled last week that a whistleblower is not required to report allegations of violations of the U.S. securities laws to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in order to qualify for protection under the Dodd-Frank Act. In the case of Connolly v. Wolfgang Remkes, Case No. 5:14-CV-01344 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 28, 2014), the court made that decision -- and...