Whistleblower Insider Blog

Monthly Roundup - February 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Here is our look-back at the key whistleblower and fraud developments we have written about over the past month: Featured Posts and Commentary Petition to Change the Face of Whistleblowers Of the thirty synonyms Thesaurus.com and Merriam-Webster provide to describe whistleblower, the vast majority of them are deeply derogatory and paint the whistleblower as dishonest, disloyal...

Companies Warming to Internal Whistleblower Reporting Programs, But Not Doing Enough to Support Them

By Marlene Koury A recent report shows that internal whistleblower reporting programs are getting stronger.  Companies are continuing to invest in the development of these programs as a way to ferret out fraud and misconduct.  And more and more employees are stepping up and reporting misdeeds, providing higher quality tips than ever before.  But as concerns are being shared in record numbers, the report also...

Another Record-Breaking Year in the Government’s Campaign Against Health Care Fraud

By Jason Enzler The Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services released their annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report yesterday to much fanfare.  And justifiably so.  The report documented the breaking of several records in the government’s ongoing fight against health care fraud. According to the report, for every $1 the government spent on combating health care fraud over the...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - February 25, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team NYPD internal affairs chief calls whistleblower a rat – The allegation comes from a lawsuit filed by an NYPD whistleblower who claims he was retaliated against for reporting misconduct within the Department.  Daily News Internal whistleblower reporting programs are getting stronger – NAVEX Global’s 2014 Ethics and Compliance Hotline Benchmark Report shows that internal...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - February 21, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Senator Wyden calls for investigation into Hanford whistleblower firings – The call was prompted after two employees of Hanford Nuclear Reservation were fired for raising safety concerns about the construction of a $13B plant to treat the site's most dangerous radioactive wastes.  Seattle Post Intelligencer SEC pushes back on attempted narrowing of whistleblower protections...

“David keeps beating Goliath when truth is in the slingshot.” – Part Two of Our Interview with Tom Devine, Legal Director for the Government Accountability Project

Earlier this month, we brought you the first part of a two-part interview with Tom Devine, Legal Director for the Government Accountability Project.  In that post, we discussed whistleblowers and national security.  In this second part, we explore what it means to be a whistleblower in the 2010s and some pressing issues facing whistleblowers in the years ahead. Whistleblower Insider:  We've focused so far on the...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - February 18, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Snowden’s lawyer detained and harassed at Heathrow airport – Well known whistleblower lawyer and Government Accountability Project director, Jesselyn Radack, was questioned in a private room about her work with numerous whistleblowers including Edward Snowden “that appeared aimed at emotional intimidation.”  RT FCA for West Virginia? -- West Virginia House Judiciary to...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - February 14, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team SEC shakes up its enforcement unit – For the past three years, the SEC won 75% of its trials, but a drop to winning only 55% over the past few months has prompted a restructuring of the agency's trial division.  WSJ Whistleblower protections for food workers – OSHA issued its interim final rules establishing whistleblower protections for those working in the food industry. ...

US Plunges in Press Freedom Ranking

By Gordon Schnell Freedom of the press is an essential attribute of any real democracy.  At least it is certainly supposed to be.  But according to a just-released report by the international press rights group, Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the US is lagging far behind the rest of the free world when it comes to honoring this democratic mainstay.  This comes from RWB’s 2014 World Press Freedom Index, the...

Whistleblower News from the Inside - February 11, 2014

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team RBS whistleblower makes claims of vampire bank – An employee of the bank’s global restructuring group claims the banking giant used "immoral, survivalist tactics" to destroy a number of businesses "that didn't need destroying" in an attempt to help save the bank during the credit crisis.  UK Channel 4 SelfRefind settles False Claims Act charges – The Kentucky chain of...