DOJ Reports Decline in Total Fraud Recoveries in 2020, but Whistleblower Efforts and Rewards Continue

In its annual report of recoveries in fraud and False Claims Act cases, the Department of Justice reported total recoveries of $2.2 billion for the fiscal year ending September 2020.  These recoveries represent the lowest reported DOJ recoveries since 2008. While it is the decline in recoveries that stands out, the 2020 DOJ fraud statistics do share some things in common with prior years.  First, whistleblowers were again critical to...

Congress Set to Pass NDAA with New Whistleblower Reward Provisions for Money Laundering

The FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), likely to be passed by Congress this week, takes a critical step for anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement by creating a long overdue AML whistleblower program.  The NDAA’s new whistleblower program, administered by the Department of Treasury, would provide for mandatory awards to whistleblowers who brought forward information about violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), our primary AML enforcement law. As our attorneys...

Mary Inman and Tom Mueller discuss whistleblowers and ethics in the workplace at Integrity at Work Week conference

On November 23, 2020, Constantine Cannon partner and head of the firm’s international whistleblower practice, Mary Inman, interviewed the author of “Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud”, Tom Mueller, at the Integrity at Work Week conference organized by Transparency International Ireland. The discussions started off with Tom describing common misapprehensions about whistleblowing and explaining how, with the growth of secrecy and the cult of money, insiders have...

Constantine Cannon LLP Announces $6.375 Million Medicare Advantage Whistleblower Settlement with Group Health Cooperative

The settlement is the latest in a series of high profile Medicare Advantage fraud cases brought forward by whistleblowers. Constantine Cannon LLP is pleased to announce that its whistleblower client’s claims have resulted in a $6.375 million settlement with Group Health Cooperative (GHC). The whistleblower exposed an alleged risk-adjustment scheme designed to artificially inflate the reimbursement provided under Medicare Part C (known as Medicare Advantage). GHC is now a subsidiary...

Daily Journal Names Whistleblower Attorney Anne Hartman Among California’s Top 100 Women Lawyers

Constantine Cannon partner Anne Hayes Hartman, a member of the firm’s Whistleblower Practice Group, has been recognized by the Daily Journal on the California legal publication’s annual Top 100 Women Lawyers in California list. The list honors California women attorneys who have made a difference in the past year to their clients, their firms, and their profession. In profiling Ms. Hartman, the legal newspaper noted her role as counsel for...

Partner Mary Inman and Theranos whistleblower, Erika Cheung, speak on the Forbes' stage about whistleblowers & corporate accountability

On October 30, 2019, Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman and Erika Cheung, founder of Ethics in Entrepreneurship and a former whistleblower who reported Theranos to health regulators, shared the stage in Detroit at the Forbes 30 under 30 conference to discuss the importance of whistleblowers and corporate accountability, as captured in the video below. The discussions kicked off with Erika’s experience blowing the whistle on Theranos, a blood-testing start-up, where...

Constantine Cannon Settles Case Alleging Kickbacks to Multi-Practice Physicians’ Group for Referrals to Wholly Owned Ambulatory Surgery Center – Whistleblower Was Former CEO

Constantine Cannon, on behalf of whistleblower Jeffery Neuberger, has settled a False Claims Act action against Mid Dakota Clinic and a related entity.  Mr. Neuberger, the former CEO of the medical group, filed his case in 2017 alleging a scheme in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) between the medical group and its wholly owned ambulatory surgery center (ASC).  At issue was a financial arrangement whereby all of the multi-practice...

With over $136 million in Whistleblower Awards in 2020, the SEC Amends the Rules of its Whistleblower Program

In a public meeting held earlier this week, the SEC approved - by a 3-2 vote - several changes to its remarkably successful whistleblower program. Most notably, the Commission withdrew a 2018 contentious proposal which would have authorized it to reduce the amount of money in rewards issued in large enforcement actions where at least $100 million were collected. Moreover, all five Commissioners recognized the importance of whistleblowers in rooting...

Verizon and AT&T Agree to Pay $127 Million to Settle California and Nevada Whistleblower Cases, Bringing Total Recoveries to $138.7 Million

SAN FRANCISCO, September 24, 2020 – Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility, the nation’s largest wireless providers, have agreed to pay a combined $127 million to settle whistleblower lawsuits claiming they overcharged California and Nevada government customers for wireless services.  The settlements in the long-running cases, brought by the whistleblower in 2012, and approved today by a California court, represent the second-largest California False Claims Act settlement in the state’s history...

CFTC Sets Sights on Binary Options Fraud

The CFTC continues its hot streak, aggressively pursuing fraudsters and rewarding whistleblowers who come forward with valuable information.  One particular enforcement trend stands out: a number of high-profile settlements related to illegal binary options trading platforms. Binary options are the OTB of the stock market—a method of gambling whether particular stocks will go up or down without actually purchasing the underlying stock.  Because of their inherent riskiness and liability for...