Whistleblower Group
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False Claims Act Scores Continue to Pile Up
Posted 10/30/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
It was only two weeks ago when we reported on three major False Claims Act wins with the government taking home more than $90 million in fines and penalties and the whistleblowers getting a $10 million piece of the pie. See Big Week for Whistleblowers. Then there was last week’s $175 million pre-trebled jury verdict against guardrail maker Trinity Industries for lacing our...
Humane Society Launches Whistleblower Hotline
Posted 10/30/14
By Marlene Koury
Whistleblowers now have a dedicated hotline to anonymously report animal abuse without running afoul of “ag-gag” laws aimed at criminalizing the documentation of cruelty on factory farms. The Humane Society launched the hotline (1-888-209-7177) for whistleblowers to report cruelty and neglect on factory farms, at livestock auctions and in slaughter houses, offering a reward of up to $5,000...
Third Circuit Rejects Qui Tam Lawsuit On Original Source Requirement
Posted 10/30/14
By Jason Enzler
When a False Claims Act lawsuit is brought by a qui tam relator that alleges a fraudulent scheme, and those allegations have already been publicly disclosed, that is often the end of the matter. Case dismissed. Under some circumstances, however, the relator can keep his case alive by showing that he is the “original source” of the publicly disclosed information. To do so, the relator must...
October 29, 2014
JDI Dating Ltd., an England-based company, and its owner William Mark Thomas, agreed to settle charges alleging the company used fake, computer-generated profiles to trick users into upgrading to paid memberships and charging these members a recurring monthly fee without their consent. The settlement prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting material facts about any product or service and requires that, before obtaining consumers’ billing information for a product with a negative-option feature, the defendants clearly disclose the name of the seller or provider, a product description and its cost, the length of any trial period, the fact that charges will continue unless the consumer cancels, the deadline for canceling, and the mechanism to stop recurring charges. The order also requires the defendants to pay $616,165 in redress. FTCWhistleblower Spotlight – Climate Change Whistleblower Rick Piltz
Posted 10/29/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
This week's "Whistleblower Spotlight" falls on Rick Piltz, former climate policy analyst in the George W. Bush Administration. He is the whistleblower who exposed a White House putting politics before science by distorting scientific findings on global warming. His release of internal government documents showing a White House behaving badly led to the immediate ousting of...
Whistleblower News from the Inside - October 29, 2014
Posted 10/29/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
New False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit against Wells Fargo -- A False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit against Wells Fargo was unsealed this week, alleging Wachovia bank (purchased by Wells Fargo) defrauded the government when the government provided assistance to the bank during the Great Recession. Charlotte Observer
SEC investigating insider-trading at Medicare agency...
October 28, 2014
FTC charges AT&T Mobility, LLC with misleading millions of its smartphone customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while reducing their data speeds, in some cases by nearly 90 percent. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company failed to adequately disclose to its customers on unlimited data plans that, if they reach a certain amount of data use in a given billing cycle, AT&T reduces – or “throttles” – their data speeds to the point that many common mobile phone applications – like web browsing, GPS navigation and watching streaming video – become difficult or nearly impossible to use. FTCWhistleblower News from the Inside - October 28, 2014
Posted 10/28/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Is Wall Street silencing whistleblowers? -- Several House Democrats who fear Wall Street is using confidentiality agreements to keep people from blowing the whistle on misconduct sent a letter to the SEC urging it to send a “strong message” that such agreements won’t be tolerated and consider “bringing enforcement actions if necessary.” The Hill
The Nation...