Question of the Week — Should the Medicare Fraud Hotline or HHS OIG Reward Informants?

Opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics agreed to a $225 million settlement related to allegations that it unlawfully marketed its drug Subsys and paid kickbacks to providers through “speaker programs” that rewarded providers who prescribed Subsys. We previously asked whether our readers thought CEOs should be more liable for corporate wrongdoing after the Insys CEO was convicted for participating in a criminal racketeering conspiracy. The proliferation of kickback schemes, evidenced by the...

Question of the Week — Will we see you at the OffshoreAlert Conference?

Publisher OffshoreAlert, which bills itself as “the unofficial financial regulator” and specializes in reporting about offshore financial centers with an emphasis on fraud investigations, is hosting its annual North American conference on Financial Intelligence & Investigations on April 28-30th in Miami, Florida. For a second year, Constantine Cannon Partner Eric Havian will lead a panel with representatives from each of the major U.S. financial whistleblower programs:  SEC’s Whistleblower Office chief...

Unauthorized Trading

Unauthorized trading involves the purchase or sale of securities or other assets in a customer’s account without the customer’s prior knowledge and authorization. Whistleblowers with knowledge of unauthorized trading may be able to bring a claim under the SEC Whistleblower Reward Program or the CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, depending on the financial products and parties involved. Unauthorized trading can occur with any security or other financial product. For example, a...

July 12, 2018

The CFTC announced an award of approximately $30 million to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided key original information that led to a successful enforcement action. The award is the largest award made by the CFTC’s Whistleblower Program to date and is the fifth award made by the program. Previously, the highest award amount paid to a CFTC whistleblower was in March 2016 of more than $10 million (see CFTC Press...

The Catch of the Week -- Société Générale S.A.

In a joint effort by the DOJ, CFTC, and French authorities, Société Générale agreed on June 4th to pay penalties and disgorgement in excess of $1 billion arising out of two separate wrongful schemes, making them our Catch of the Week. First, in connection with alleged violations arising from manipulation of the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR), Société Générale agreed to pay $275 million in a settlement with DOJ and...

Market Manipulation & Trading Violations

Fraud in the trading and pricing of securities and financial products and other market manipulation schemes undermine the integrity of the markets and can cause substantial harm to investors. Such fraud can be committed by broker-dealers, financial exchanges, transfer agents, and other market participants including traders in off-exchange markets such as dark pools. These schemes can violate securities laws of the Commodity Exchange Act, depending on the markets and securities...

International

Helping international whistleblowers bring claims under U.S. whistleblower laws You do not need to be a citizen or resident of the United States to become a whistleblower. In many cases, whistleblowers located outside of the U.S. are best positioned to uncover fraudulent schemes that violate U.S. laws or affect the U.S. government such as fraudulent bills submitted to the U.S. government, evasion of U.S. taxes, or financial and investor fraud...

Gordon Schnell

Gordon Schnell has been a partner of Constantine Cannon since 1999, specializing in the representation of whistleblowers under the False Claims Act, the SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs, and the vast array of other federal and state whistleblower laws. He founded the firm’s whistleblower practice and with more than 12 whistleblower lawyers in the firm’s three offices, it has become one of the largest and most successful whistleblower practice groups...

In Their Own Words -- McDonald

-- “The Whistleblower Program is an integral part of the Division’s efforts to identify and prosecute unlawful conduct. The Commission’s approval of these rules today will further strengthen and enhance our efforts to protect customers and promote market integrity.” James McDonald, the CFTC’s Director of the Division of Enforcement, in his comments on changes to the CFTC Whistleblower Rules. Click here for more.

Financial & Investment Fraud

Learn More About Blowing the Whistle on Financial and Investment Fraud: Whistleblowers can Report and Prevent Financial and Investment Fraud Who Can Be Held Liable for Committing Financial Fraud? What Types of Financial Fraud Can Whistleblowers Report? Misrepresentations, including accounting and financial reporting fraud Regulatory Violations Fraud in Go-Public Transactions, including IPOs and SPACs Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Fraud and Misconduct by Investment Professionals Misappropriation of Funds,...