Whistleblower Group
This archive page contains posts by the Whistleblower Practice Group. For all Whistleblower pages, please see:
DC Circuit Creates Split on Scope of First-to-File Rule Under False Claims Act
Posted 04/24/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Under the so-called first-to-file rule, “[w]hen a person brings an action under the False Claims Act, no person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action.” 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5). The rule serves two primary purposes. It encourages whistleblowers with allegations of fraud to come forward as quickly as...
Losing Focus – The “Irrational Exuberance” Surrounding College Sports
Posted 04/24/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Most of us are well familiar with the multi-billion dollar business big-time college sports have become and their questionable impact on the so-called “student-athletes” who fuel them. See The Hypocrisy of Big-Time College Sports. Questions of amateurism, exploitation and academic failure and fraud associated with these major sports have been swirling about for years. And...
April 23, 2014
Amedisys home health companies agreed to pay $150M resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by allegedly billing Medicare for nursing and therapy services not medically necessary or provided to patients who were not homebound, and by otherwise misrepresenting patients’ conditions to increase its Medicare payments. The allegations were first raised in several qui tam lawsuit filed by former Amedisys employees under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJWhistleblower News from the Inside - April 22, 2014
Posted 04/22/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
UNC whistleblower resigns – The whistleblower whose research on athletes' literacy caused a firestorm of controversy at the University of North Carolina is leaving because of the “hostile work environment” that followed her reporting. CNN
Skeptical Justices hear Coca-Cola defend its Minute-Maid label against Pom – The rival juice maker claims false advertising in the...
Whistleblower News from the Inside - April 18, 2014
Posted 04/18/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Chinese whistleblowers on the rise – The SEC received one whistleblower tip per week from China last year, double the year before and five times more than in 2011, but the “SEC is just one of many channels for this new breed of Chinese whistleblowers.” Reuters
NHS whistleblower wins landmark retaliation case – Dr. Raj Mattu, a cardiologist, was suspended for 8 years...
April 18, 2014
The CFTC filed an enforcement action against Wayne Pennoyer Weddington III and his companies, Brunswick Capital and Brunswick Capital Partners, charging them with solicitation fraud, making false statements, and registration violations in connection with a commodity pool that he formed called Pennoyer International Funds Global Opportunity. CFTCGrassley Announces Creation of Whistleblower Protection Caucus
Posted 04/17/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), noted architect and champion of several whistleblower protection laws, has announced he will create the first-ever Senate whistleblower protection caucus. The caucus, also commonly referred to as a coalition or working group, will consist of a group of senators dedicated to protecting whistleblowers and ensuring that whistleblower laws are...
Eighth Circuit Takes Broad View of Whistleblower “Finder's Fee”
Posted 04/17/14
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, a whistleblower who files an action that ultimately leads to a government recovery is entitled to a generous portion of the proceeds -- anywhere from 15 to 30 percent. There is no discretion in making an award. It is mandated by statute. It is this unadulterated promise of a significant financial bounty that has been a...