Whistleblower Insider is written by the Constantine Cannon law firm team of experienced qui tam and whistleblower lawyers. It is updated regularly to provide the latest whistleblower and fraud news and developments.
Today, (August 30), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a $4 million whistleblower award "to an insider whistleblower who provided information that led the Division of Enforcement to open an investigation into ongoing misconduct." This follows a relatively modest spate of awards this year, including awards on August 8 ($1M), June 17 ($8M), June 3 ($4.5M), March 14 ($1.25M).
Despite the small...
When it comes to the safety of our military, there is no room for shortcuts. Austal USA LLC, a shipbuilder out of Mobile, Alabama, crossed that line by allegedly supplying the military with “butterfly valves” that did not meet military grade standards. Butterfly valves are quarter-turn valves that rotate to control the flow of fluids in pipelines, the failure of which could lead to leaks in a ship’s hull. Austal...
Last Thursday (August 22), the Department of Justice (DOJ) joined a whistleblower lawsuit alleging the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech Research Corp. violated the False Claims Act by failing to meet cybersecurity requirements on certain Department of Defense contracts. The whistleblowers who originated the action were members of Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity team.
The lawsuit alleges multiple...
In a landmark case for affordable housing justice, the City of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $38.2 million to resolve a False Claims Act whistleblower suit alleging misuse of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds. Whistleblower Mei Ling, an L.A. resident who uses a wheelchair, played a crucial role in holding the city accountable and ensuring federal funds are used to benefit all residents,...
After a relatively quiet year of SEC whistleblower awards, the SEC seems to be on a bit of a roll with its announcement today of a $24 million award to two whistleblowers. This follows last Friday's award (August 23) of a whopping $98 million to two whistleblowers, which followed two $37 million awards last month (on July 26 and July 17). There had been no other awards this year up to that point. Whatever may have...
National Interventional Radiology Partners PLLC (NIRP) and its founder, Dr. Andrew Gomes, have agreed to pay nearly $9 million to resolve kickback allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Anti-Kickback Statute(AKS). NIRP and Dr. Gomes prioritized their profits over patient care by paying kickbacks for Medicare referrals. In 2018, a whistleblower exposed the misconduct, triggering the government...
Today the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a $600,000 settlement to resolve False Claims Act violations with Orange Medical Care, P.C., a family medicine practice based in Newburgh, New York. Orange Medical Care and its owners, Drs. Ashikkumar A. Raval and Manish A. Raval, admitted to submitting claims for primary care services that were not rendered or supervised by the physician...
It has been a very busy week for the DOJ tackling COVID-19 fraud. On August 15, DOJ announced that The Bloom Firm, a California-based law firm, along with senior management members Lisa Bloom and Braden Pollock, reached a settlement over government allegations of violating the False Claims Act by misusing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds.
The PPP was established in March 2020 under the CARES Act to offer...