Walgreens to Pay $106.8M to Settle Whistleblower Case Alleging it Billed the Government for Prescriptions it Did Not Dispense

Walgreens has agreed to pay $106.8 million to settle false claims allegations that between 2009 and 2020 it billed government healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for prescriptions that it never dispensed because they were not picked up by patients. The government alleged that Walgreens received tens of millions of dollars to which it was not entitled for prescriptions that it never actually provided to health care beneficiaries. Two former...

Not-So-Sweet Deal for Brazilian and Swiss Sugar Companies as CFTC Orders $750,000 Fine for Wash Sales  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued a ruling against Raizen Energia SA, a major Brazilian energy and sugar company, and its Swiss affiliate, Raizen Trading SA. The companies have been ordered to pay a combined $750,000 penalty for engaging in illegal wash sales and non-competitive transactions within the sugar futures market. A wash sale is a transaction in which an investor sells or trades a security at a...

DOJ Launches Pilot Whistleblower Rewards Program That Could Be A Game-Changer

Last week (August 1), the Department of Justice (DOJ) formally launched its much-anticipated Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program. It is designed to fill some of the gaps among the existing whistleblower rewards programs -- primarily the False Claims Act and the SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, and IRS whistleblower programs -- by focusing on criminal activity that generally falls outside the scope of these programs. Under the new pilot program, "a whistleblower...

Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Partner Gordon Schnell Published In American Banker On CFPB Move To Increase Whistleblower Protections

Constantine Cannon whistleblower partner Gordon Schnell was published in the American Banker on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) becoming the latest agency to take affirmative steps to clear the path for whistleblowers. This comes from the agency's July 24 press release and circular warning companies away from using broad nondisclosure agreements to prevent employees from becoming whistleblowers. As Schnell explains, "the CFPB joins the many other government agencies concerned with protecting...

CFPB Joins Chorus Of Government Agencies Clearing The Way For Whistleblowers

On July 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a press release announcing its release of a circular warning companies away from using broad nondisclosure agreements to prevent employees from becoming whistleblowers. It is just the latest example of a key enforcement agency taking affirmative steps to clear the path for whistleblowers, recognizing the critical role they play in helping the government police corporate fraud and misconduct.    The Securities and Exchange...

Constantine Cannon Partners Gain National Recognition for Whistleblower Advocacy

Earlier this week, five of Constantine Cannon’s whistleblower attorneys were honored for their exemplary work: Gordon Schnell, Alysia Solow, and Daniel Vitelli have been named to the 2024 New York Metro Super Lawyers list, while Marlene Koury and Taline Sahakian have been recognized in Lawdragon's 2024 list of 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers.  The Super Lawyers list acknowledges the top 5% of outstanding lawyers through a selection process of peer...

Five Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Partners Selected for National Recognition

Constantine Cannon's whistleblower practice is pleased to announce that five of its partners have received national recognition for their work representing whistleblowers. Gordon Schnell, Alysia Solow, and Daniel Vitelli were named to the 2024 New York Metro Super Lawyers list, while Marlene Koury and Taline Sahakian were named in the Lawdragon's 2024 list of 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers. Super Lawyers annually recognizes the top 5% of outstanding lawyers on a state-by-state basis by using a multiphase selection process that evaluates peer nominations...

Third Constantine Cannon Law School Scholarship Essay Contest on the Importance of Whistleblowers

Attention all law students!  It is that time of year again.  Time to share with us your thoughts on what it means to be a whistleblower.  That is what our law school scholarship contest is all about.  Hearing from our future leaders of the Bar on the importance of whistleblowers and instilling in you at this formative stage in your careers the much-needed recognition of and appreciation for the critical...

Constantine Cannon Announces Record $70 Million Whistleblower Settlement for Alleged Municipal Bond Fraud and Price Fixing

The Constantine Cannon whistleblower team is pleased to announce a $70 million settlement for its client Edelweiss Fund LLC in a whistleblower lawsuit against eight of the nation's largest banks, making it the largest reported settlement ever under the Illinois False Claims Act.  Constantine Cannon originally filed the action in 2014 and since then has built up the Edelweiss legal team with multiple firms across the country, including Schneider Wallace...

DOJ Announces Pilot Program to Broadly Expand Whistleblower Rewards

In the keynote speech she gave yesterday (March 7) at the American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced a pilot program that could dramatically change the landscape of whistleblower rewards going forward.  Harking back to the days of "Wanted" posters used to go after outlaws across the Wild West, Monaco recognized that "law enforcement has long offered rewards to coax tipsters out...