Whistleblower Group

Blaming the Whistleblower – Court Rejects Novel Defense to False Claims Act Charges

By Gordon Schnell It would seem on its face to be a rather brazen approach to defending a False Claims Act lawsuit.  A healthcare company is charged with defrauding Medicare by billing it for medications the company never provided its patients.  The company not only denies the wrongdoing.  It goes one step further by arguing that, if there were any such misconduct, it was the whistleblower's fault by not...

Electronic Medical Records – Still Waiting for the Big Returns

By Gordon Schnell The Obama administration is spending billions of dollars to push hospitals and doctors to go digital with their medical and billing records.  It is supposed to revolutionize the industry, improving efficiency and patient safety and drastically reducing the cost of healthcare in this country.  Unfortunately, the move to electronic health records (EHRs) has fallen far short of these hoped-for...

Fired For a Job Well Done – Former Global Fund IG Appeals His Termination

By Marlene Koury John Parsons, the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since 2008, was recently fired allegedly for “unsatisfactory performance,” despite receiving industry-wide praise for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in the Global Fund’s programs.  The Global Fund is a $20 billion dollar fund set up to provide assistance to countries that lack the resources to...

Federal Judge Joins Growing Chorus Calling for Stiffer Penalties for Corporate Fraud

By Gordon Schnell It happens all the time these days.  After a lengthy investigation of reported misconduct, the government enters into a hefty settlement with the company, secures from it a mea culpa and promise to change its ways, and trumpets the resolution as another success story in the government's continuing crusade against corporate fraud.  And no question, the settlements are getting larger and the...

Lance Armstrong’s Legal Woes Mount as Justice Department Considers Joining Fraud Case

By Jason Enzler A False Claims Act complaint filed against Lance Armstrong by former teammate Floyd Landis has leaked, despite the fact that it was filed under seal and the Department of Justice has not publically decided whether it will intervene.  Although the DOJ was expected to make that decision last Thursday, there have been widespread reports that the decision would be postponed because DOJ officials are...

Scooter Store Caught Cheating the Government Out of Millions

By Marlene Koury It seems like such a wholesome company.  They have those nice commercials where elderly folks are scooting to and fro on their power-mobility devices.  It would seem that only an honest and trustworthy company would dedicate itself to caring for the needs of the elderly in this way.  But, according to an independent auditor, The Scooter Store – the purveyor of these fine commercials and the...

Interview With Jeff Connaughton, Celebrated Author of The Payoff: Why Wall Street Always Wins

By Marlene Koury Whistleblower Insider asks Jeff Connaughton about his views on the current state of government enforcement of the financial markets and what needs to be done to improve it.  He will be featured in the PBS Frontline special, The Untouchables, at 10 PM tonight, which "investigates why the U.S. Department of Justice has failed to act on credible evidence that Wall Street knowingly packaged and sold...

Whistleblower Retaliation on the Rise – Bad News for Whistleblowers and Their Employers Alike

By Gordon Schnell It is not surprising that the number of individuals blowing the whistle on fraud or misconduct in the workplace is on the rise.  The incentives and protections are getting stronger, the awards getting richer, and a new mindset emerging that when you see something, you are supposed to say something.  But what is surprising is that as much as this whistleblowing activity has grown, the level of...

Banks Put Up Over $20 Billion in One Day to Settle Charges of Mortgage and Foreclosure Abuses, But is it Enough?

By Jason Enzler Last week, the Federal Reserve and the Comptroller of the Currency announced that ten banks have agreed to an $8.5 billion settlement to resolve allegations of foreclosure abuses.  The banks, which include Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, agreed to pay $3.3 billion directly to eligible borrowers and an additional $5.2 billion in other relief, such as loan...

Sniffing Out the Fraudsters Through Their Email -- The Latest Sleuthing Tool for Uncovering Corporate Fraud

By Gordon Schnell  It is part and parcel of virtually every government investigation these days.  Rummaging through mountains of emails in search of those "smoking gun" exchanges where the wrongdoers openly detail, if not brazenly boast about, the fraud or misconduct in which they are partaking.  These emails are always there.  No matter how sophisticated or savvy the schemer.  And they typically serve as...