Fraud in Government Telehealth Programs: How to Report it Under the False Claims Act for a Whistleblower Reward
Posted 09/4/19
When patients are unable to see a doctor in person, technology can offer solutions. Telehealth or telemedicine is the provision of health services – including assessment, diagnosis, intervention, consultation, or supervision – across distance through the use of information technology. It can be especially valuable in rural areas, where specialty providers may not be available.
And its use has grown...
Deutsche Bank Pays More than $16M to Settle SEC Charges of FCPA Violations
Posted 08/30/19
Last week, the SEC announced that German-based banking giant Deutsche Bank agreed to pay more than $16 million to settle charges it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by hiring relatives of foreign officials in China and Russia to get investment banking business. See SEC Press Release. According to the SEC’s order, these so-called "referral hires" bypassed the bank's merit-based hiring process and...
Question of the Week — Is the use of public nuisance law against J&J for its role in the opioid crisis appropriate?
Posted 08/29/19
The landmark $572M opioid verdict in Oklahoma against Johnson & Johnson stemmed from a single claim: “public nuisance” under state law. Other cases against opioid manufacturers, including whistleblower cases, involve claims for fraud, unlawful marketing, improper prescriptions, kickbacks, violating the Controlled Substances Act by failing to report suspicious purchases, and even flooding the black market. But...
Two recent decisions, one in California and the other in Texas, might be signaling a new frontier in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation: the data-driven whistleblower. Both cases are brought by the same whistleblower, Integra. Integra is not a typical whistleblower, which are generally corporate insiders or other employees of a company that is accused of defrauding the government. Instead, Integra is a corporation that...
Catch of the Week — American Airlines Required to Pay Over $22 Million for Falsely Reporting Delivery Times
Posted 08/23/19
Ever wondered why a package you were desperately waiting for showed up late? Ever wished you could hold those responsible accountable for it?
If so, the U.S. government agrees with you. Its recent settlement against American Airlines required the airline to pay over $22 million for allegedly falsely reporting its delivery times. The resolution shows that timeliness matters and is yet another reminder that...
Promising Changes to IRS Whistleblower Program – Tax Whistleblowers Now Protected Against Retaliation and Improved Communication when Reporting Tax Violations
Posted 08/21/19
Recent legislation marks a potential huge step forward for the IRS Whistleblower Program, which offers rewards of 15 to 30% of government recoveries to whistleblowers who report tax avoidance. The Taxpayer First Act (TFA), which came into force on July 1, 2019 introduced key reforms that should benefit whistleblowers reporting tax evasion and underreporting.
A few months ago, the IRS Whistleblower Office released...
Facebook, Google, Samsung, Microsoft – we rely on large tech companies to safeguard our privacy and time and again they let us down. Yet tech companies are known to be highly selective employers, hiring the best and brightest and often paying better than companies in other industries. So how is it that they remain vulnerable to data breaches with such talent at their disposal?
Cisco whistleblower James Glenn has...
This Week in Whistleblower History: National Whistleblower Day and the Creation of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs
Posted 08/2/19
This week marks the seventh year in a row that Congress has designated July 30thNational Whistleblower Day, honoring the occasion, on July 30, 1778, when the Continental Congress unanimously enacted the first whistleblower protection law in the United States.
The law was passed in response to a petition to the Continental Congress filed by a group of ten American sailors and marines, who reported that their...
Interview with George Washington University Professor Kyle Welch on his Corporate Whistleblowing Research
Posted 07/22/19
Whistleblower Insider had the chance to interview Professor Kyle Welch, who teaches accounting at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Professor Welch has focused his research on the effects of whistleblowers in corporate America, and has found that healthy whistleblowing systems tend to make companies more profitable, the subject of fewer lawsuits, and hit with fewer, and lower, fines. Professor Welch’s...
How Businesses Can Use Whistleblower Reward Laws to Stop Unfair Competition
Posted 07/22/19
Most anyone can be a whistleblower. The role is not limited to the corporate insider or company employee at the meeting, on the conference call or in receipt of the email or text message where the “smoking-gun” evidence of fraud or misconduct is disclosed. Whistleblowers can be any person, or an entity, with non-public information about fraudulent conduct giving rise to a whistleblower claim. Often, businesses...