Whistleblower Insider Blog

Catch of the Week — Wealthy Parents Arrested in College Admissions Bribery Scam

Posted 03/15/19

Our Catch of the Week goes to the parents, coaches, exam administrators, admissions “consultants,” and others who were arrested and charged Tuesday for bribery and cheating to secure student admissions to elite colleges and universities. See DOJ Press Release. The FBI’s investigation, Operation Varsity Blues, uncovered a nationwide scam led by William “Rick” Singer and his companies, Edge College & Career...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week,

CFTC Pays Whistleblower Award for Related Action Brought by Another Federal Regulator

Posted 03/14/19
By Carolina Gonzalez

On March 4, 2019, the CFTC announced an award of $2 million to an anonymous whistleblower who was not an insider, but provided “critical information through independent analysis of market data” that lead to several million in recoveries by two regulatory agencies. Moreover, as the Order makes clear, the whistleblower’s $2 million award is based not just on the CFTC’s recovery, but also on a recovery in a...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Financial and Investment Fraud, International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Rewards,

Iowa Legislature Renews Attempt to Silence Agricultural Whistleblowers

Posted 03/14/19

Aerial view of agricultural waste storage facilities and livestock barns in green fields

Two months after a federal judge’s January 2019 decision that Iowa’s 2012 ag-gag law was unconstitutional, Iowa legislators have approved a new bill that—like its predecessor—aims to stifle would-be whistleblowers. The legislation falls under the umbrella of what opponents call ag-gag laws: statutes that criminalize photographing, videotaping, or otherwise blowing the whistle on misconduct occurring on farms...

Tagged in: Ag-Gag,

Question of the Week — Are device manufacturer's services valuable education or unlawful kickbacks?

Posted 03/13/19

Person in scrubs and gloves holding medical device on draped table

Earlier this week, medical-device manufacturer Medtronic's Covidien business unit agreed to pay approximately $20 million to resolve kickback allegations related to the sale of its ClosureFast radiofrequency ablation catheters. ClosureFAST catheters are used in procedures to treat venous-reflux disease, whose symptoms include varicose veins. The settlement resolves claims that Covidien improperly provided doctors...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Question of the Week,

Supreme Court rules in favor of position advocated by Constantine Cannon partner Henry Su on behalf of The Center for International Environmental Law and others in Jam v. International Finance Corp

Posted 03/8/19

Metal sign for International Finance Corporation World Bank Group at entrance to building

Can the World Bank and other international organizations be sued for investments gone awry? That was the question, broadly speaking, that the Supreme Court answered in Jam v. International Finance Group, a case brought by Indian fishermen and farmers from the state of Gujarat whose waters and lands were destroyed by a power plant financed by the International Finance Group (IFC). The group of farmers sued the...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Court Decision, Financial and Investment Fraud,

Catch of the Week — Mobile TeleSystems settles FCPA claims for $850M

Posted 03/7/19

Pile of coins with miniature flag of Uzbekistan

Russian telecom giant Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) agreed to pay approximately $850 million to settle allegations the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) by bribing an Uzbek official, a relative of Uzbekistan’s president at the time. $100M will be paid to the SEC to resolve the charges and will be credited against a criminal fine and forfeiture of $850M based on related criminal...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCPA, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

CFTC Playing Catch Up Makes Another Whistleblower Award

Posted 03/6/19

On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a whistleblower award totaling more than $2 million. It is the latest in what has been a string of recent CFTC awards after a very slow start for the CFTC Whistleblower Program. Indeed, 2018 was a banner year for the program reflecting what appears to be a renewed commitment by the agency to make up for lost time and embrace the critical role...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Eligibility, Whistleblower Rewards,

Canada Makes First Securities Fraud Whistleblower Award

Posted 03/6/19

Canadian maple leaf flag in cloth with draping

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced last week roughly CAD $7.5 million in whistleblower awards to three individuals who reported violations of Ontario securities laws. The awards are the first ever by a Canadian securities regulator. In keeping with its commitment to protecting the confidentiality of whistleblowers, the OSC did not disclose any information that might reveal the whistleblowers'...

Tagged in: International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Tax Fraud,

Question of the Week — Should Big Pharma Be Publicly Shamed for Its Role in the Opioid Crisis?

Posted 03/4/19

Domenic Esposito, a sculptor from Massachusetts, has placed a 10-foot long sculpture of a burnt heroin spoon-the kind used by heroin addicts to melt heroin before injecting it-in front of the Rhode Island headquarters of Rhodes Pharmaceuticals. Today, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals is among the largest producers of generic opioids in the U.S. It is also a sister company of Purdue Pharma, which, along with other opioid makers,...

Tagged in: Question of the Week,

$2.1 Million Whistleblower Settlement with Skyline Urology Resolves Allegations of Improper Unbundling Fraud

Posted 03/1/19

This week, the Department of Justice and Constantine Cannon LLP announced a $2.1 million settlement against Skyline Urology, at one time the largest urology practice in California. The settlement, which includes $1.85 million to the United States and $250,000 to the State of California, resolved allegations by our whistleblower client that Skyline had engaged in a systematic coding scheme to defraud Medicare and...

Tagged in: Bundling and Unbundling, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Billing Fraud, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

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Catch of the Week — Wealthy Parents Arrested in College Admissions Bribery Scam

CFTC Pays Whistleblower Award for Related Action Brought by Another Federal Regulator

Iowa Legislature Renews Attempt to Silence Agricultural Whistleblowers

Question of the Week — Are device manufacturer's services valuable education or unlawful kickbacks?

Supreme Court rules in favor of position advocated by Constantine Cannon partner Henry Su on behalf of The Center for International Environmental Law and others in Jam v. International Finance Corp

Catch of the Week — Mobile TeleSystems settles FCPA claims for $850M

CFTC Playing Catch Up Makes Another Whistleblower Award

Canada Makes First Securities Fraud Whistleblower Award

Question of the Week — Should Big Pharma Be Publicly Shamed for Its Role in the Opioid Crisis?

$2.1 Million Whistleblower Settlement with Skyline Urology Resolves Allegations of Improper Unbundling Fraud

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Whistleblower Insider Blog

Catch of the Week — Wealthy Parents Arrested in College Admissions Bribery Scam

CFTC Pays Whistleblower Award for Related Action Brought by Another Federal Regulator

Iowa Legislature Renews Attempt to Silence Agricultural Whistleblowers

Question of the Week — Are device manufacturer's services valuable education or unlawful kickbacks?

Supreme Court rules in favor of position advocated by Constantine Cannon partner Henry Su on behalf of The Center for International Environmental Law and others in Jam v. International Finance Corp

Catch of the Week — Mobile TeleSystems settles FCPA claims for $850M

CFTC Playing Catch Up Makes Another Whistleblower Award

Canada Makes First Securities Fraud Whistleblower Award

Question of the Week — Should Big Pharma Be Publicly Shamed for Its Role in the Opioid Crisis?

$2.1 Million Whistleblower Settlement with Skyline Urology Resolves Allegations of Improper Unbundling Fraud

Learn about Whistleblower Rewards Programs

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

Sign up for: