Importance of Whistleblowers

Pandora Papers Show the Value of Financial Transparency, the Critical Role of Whistleblowers – and the Need for Additional Regulation

This week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and its partners began publicly reporting on the “Pandora Papers,” a trove of millions of leaked documents from firms around the world that help customers set up “offshore” accounts and shell companies designed to conceal financial truths.  The leaked documents, and the extensive reporting on the documents, sheds light on the murky world of...

Attention Whistleblowers: DOJ Announces Cyber Fraud Initiative

On October 6, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that the Department of Justice will launch a Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to combat new cyber threats and hold accountable those “that put U.S. information or systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or knowingly violating obligations to monitor...

Whistleblower Reveals Facebook’s Lies: Will the SEC or Congress Act to Curtail Threats to Democracy and Teens from Social Media?

For anyone who cares about the future of liberal democracy, improving the mental health and well-being of children, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, or stopping drug cartels and human trafficking, the recent series in The Wall Street Journal titled “The Facebook Files” is a must-read.  Based on a trove of internal documents shared by a Facebook whistleblower, as well as interviews with numerous current and former...

A Billion in the Bank and Still No End In Sight For SEC’s Warm Embrace of Whistleblowers

It has been only two weeks since the SEC passed the billion dollar mark in whistleblower awards under the agency's Whistleblower Program.  By all accounts, there will be no end to the cavalcade of awards that brought us to this landmark event. Starting with the whistleblower payout that brought the total awards tally past the 10-figure threshold.  It was a blockbuster $110 million award, the second largest to...

Passage of “Silenced No More Act” Poised to Usher in New Era of Transparency, Where California Whistleblowers Will No Longer be Gagged by Overly Broad Non-Disclosure Agreements and Non-Disparagement Clauses and Can More Freely Report Corporate Fraud

On Monday, August 30^th, the California Legislature took a giant leap forward in promoting transparency, corporate accountability, and integrity by passing Senate Bill 331, the “Silenced No More Act,” which is soon to be one of the country’s most advanced laws redressing the insidious role NDAs and other concealment and non-disparagement clauses have played in preventing whistleblowers from speaking up about...

U.S. Pursuit of Risk Adjustment Fraud Continues with Complaint in Intervention in Case Filed by Constantine Cannon Client against Independent Health and its Coding Subsidiary DxID

In July, we wrote that managed care enforcement had reached a “tipping point,” as the Department of Justice intervened in whistleblower cases against Kaiser Permanente alleging risk adjustment fraud, including a case brought by Constantine Cannon client Dr. James Taylor.  Just last month, we announced a $90 million settlement in a different Medicare Advantage risk adjustment fraud case brought by Constantine...

Eric Havian Discusses Beginning of Theranos Trial on Talking Feds Podcast: Listen Here

Our very own Harry Litman, host of the Talking Feds podcast which brings together former government officials, recently welcomed Constantine Cannon Whistleblower partner Eric Havian to discuss the trial of Theranos founder and former CEO Elizabeth Holmes. While this Talking Feds podcast would ordinarily be available only through Patreon, we have made it available to you below. Ms. Holmes is charged with 12 counts...

SEC Whistleblower Program Summer Roundup - Nearing the Billion Dollar Mark

For the SEC Whistleblower Program, it was business as usual this summer.  With total awards of more than $50 million to 25 whistleblowers, the agency moved ever closer to the billion dollar mark.  Here is how it played out for the SEC program over the not so lazy days of summer:

• June 2 – $23 million (2 whistleblowers)
• June 14 – $3 million (2 whistleblowers)
• June 21 – $5.3 million (4...

Whistleblowers are Essential to Protect Infrastructure Funds

America’s roads, bridges, power grids, and airports are a mess.  Recently a group of civil and structural engineers graded the nation’s infrastructure a below-average C-. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill currently before Congress aims to solve some of those issues, with what the White House described as “a once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure.” The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill promises...

Medically Unnecessary Procedures Harm Patients, Raise U.S. Healthcare Costs, Atlantic Feature Emphasizes

Unnecessary procedures have long plagued the U.S. healthcare system, costing taxpayers billions and subjecting thousands of patients to invasive procedures that sometimes do more harm than good. For decades, various government actors have acknowledged the problem.

Why then is it so difficult to prevent unnecessary procedures in the U.S.?

Reporter Chris Outcalt recently pondered in a piece for The Atlantic. The...