Whistleblower Insider Blog

Missouri Mortgage Lender Agrees to Pay $2.4M to Settle Allegations It Defrauded Senior Mortgage Program  

Yesterday, the DOJ announced that James B. Nutter & Company, a former mortgage lender from Kansas City, Missouri, agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underwriting Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) that did not meet eligibility requirements.

The HECM program is essentially a reverse mortgage product for homeowners aged 62 and older that allows seniors to...

South Dakota Surgical Hospital Agrees to Pay $12.7 Million to Settle Kickback and Stark Law Violations

The DOJ announced Dunes Surgical Hospital in South Dakota and United Surgical Partners International (USPI) and its subsidiary, USP Siouxland, have agreed to pay $12.7 million to settle a False Claims Act case alleging the hospital engaged in illegal financial relationships with two physician groups. These arrangements spanned from 2014 to 2019 and involved payments that led to improper patient referrals to Dunes in...

Fifth Place Winner of Constantine Cannon’s Whistleblower Essay Contest: Chana Deitsch

The Constantine Cannon whistleblower team is pleased to share with you the Fifth-Place Winner of the firm’s Third Law School Scholarship Essay Contest on the importance of whistleblowers. That award (and the $250 prize) goes to Chana Deitsch, a first-year student at Fordham University Law School.

In her essay, Chana details her journey from a passion for writing to a growing concern for the harmful effects of...

Constantine Cannon Announces Winners of Whistleblower Essay Contest

Updated October 22, 2024

Earlier this year, Constantine Cannon launched its Third Scholarship Essay Contest on the Importance of Whistleblowers. The goal of our contest is to hear what law school students have to say about the importance of whistleblowers and to reinforce the critical role whistleblowers play in our society.

Specifically, we ask for an essay between 250 and 750 words that addresses one or more of...

Walgreens to Pay $106.8M to Settle Whistleblower Case Alleging it Billed the Government for Prescriptions it Did Not Dispense

Walgreens has agreed to pay $106.8 million to settle false claims allegations that between 2009 and 2020 it billed government healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for prescriptions that it never dispensed because they were not picked up by patients. The government alleged that Walgreens received tens of millions of dollars to which it was not entitled for prescriptions that it never actually provided...

RFSUNY Paid $300K to Settle Allegations of UAlbany Scientist's Undisclosed Foreign Ties in NASA and NOAA-Funded Research

The Research Foundation of the State University of New York (RFSUNY) has agreed to pay $313,574 to settle allegations that a SUNY at Albany (UAlbany) research scientist failed to disclose affiliations with and support from a foreign government while receiving federal research grants.

The settlement addresses claims that Dr. Qilong Min withheld information about his connections and funding from the Chinese government...

In Their Own Words … U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, Zachary Cunha

“I would say 9 times out of 10 … what’s really motivating people [to blow the whistle] is the desire to do the right thing.  They see something that is wrong, and they want to step up and they want to deal with it.  …  And part of our job is to step up and support them in that effort.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, Zachary Cunha, providing his views on whistleblowers during a recent 

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to Pay $25 Million in Price-Fixing Scheme

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on Wednesday, that Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA, has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) that it conspired to fix the price of the generic cholesterol-lowering drug pravastatin.  The government alleged Glenmark violated the Anti-Kickback Statute between 2013 and 2015, by paying and...

Medical Device Company to Pay $700,000 to Settle FCA Whistleblower Case

Medical device manufacturer THD America Inc., along with its parent company, THD SpA of Italy, have agreed to pay $700,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that THD caused physicians to submit improper billing codes to Medicare and Medicaid for its novel hemorrhoid removal kit (the “Kit”). According to the government, THD sells the Kit to colorectal surgeons to assist in the cauterization and removal of...

SEC Continues to Focus on “Greenwashing”

The SEC continues to go after companies that make inaccurate statements about the sustainability or environmental impact of products or practices -- so called “greenwashing.”  The most recent example is the hot water in which Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. found itself. The SEC charged Keurig with making inaccurate statements in its annual reports for fiscal years 2019 and 2020 regarding the “recyclability of its...