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Legislation and Regulation News

This archive displays posts tagged as news about whistleblower legislation and regulations. You may also be interested in our pages:

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Eleventh Circuit Revives VA Mortgage Fraud Whistleblower Case

Posted  01/22/21
mortgage papers with gavel, cash and magnifying glass
Last week, a three-judge panel on the Eleventh Circuit breathed new life into a fifteen-year-old mortgage fraud lawsuit brought by two whistleblowers under the False Claims Act.  The opinion, United States ex rel. Bibby v. Mortgage Investors Corporation adds another voice to the chorus of circuit courts applying the Supreme Court’s landmark 2016 ruling on the FCA’s “materiality” standard, Universal Health...

D.C. Council Passes Amendment that Expands D.C. False Claims Act to Cover Tax Fraud

Posted  01/8/21
folder records
The D.C. Council has passed, by veto-proof majority, an amendment to its False Claims Act that expands the scope of the Act to cover tax fraud claims. The amended D.C. FCA will cover tax fraud claims against people and entities that file taxes in D.C., report at least $1 million in income, and understate their tax liability or seek a tax refund resulting in damages of $350,000 or more.  D.C. joins New York and Guam,...

Congress Set to Pass NDAA with New Whistleblower Reward Provisions for Money Laundering

Posted  12/8/20
NDAA money laundering AML whistleblower reward provisions
The FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), likely to be passed by Congress this week, takes a critical step for anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement by creating a long overdue AML whistleblower program.  The NDAA’s new whistleblower program, administered by the Department of Treasury, would provide for mandatory awards to whistleblowers who brought forward information about violations of the Bank...

Call to Albany: Time to reward insurance fraud whistleblowers

Posted  10/29/20
By Gordon Schnell
Whistle on Wood
(Published in Times Union) Here is an idea for Albany. It would significantly strengthen the State's efforts to combat fraud, inject the State with tens of millions of dollars a year in added revenue, and most importantly, better protect the health and welfare of all New Yorkers. All it would entail is expanding New York's whistleblower rewards regime to include individuals exposing insurance fraud. New York...

Proposed Changes to NY FCA Tax Provisions Rattle Potential Tax Fraudsters

Posted  10/16/20
Albany New York Capitol Complex buildings against blue sky
New York is one of several states that has provisions in its state False Claims Act (“NY FCA”) allowing whistleblower (or qui tam) suits for violations of the state’s tax laws. On August 3, 2020 (Senate) and October 7, 2020 (Assembly), the New York state legislature, introduced bills proposing revisions to the NY FCA’s tax provisions.

The Proposed Legislation

The Senate bill’s accompanying memorandum...

A Better Approach to Fighting Fraud in West-Virginia: Bring in the Whistleblowers

Posted  10/12/20
By Gordon Schnell
West-Virginia Capitol Building
(Guest Essay Published in the Dominion Post) As the saying goes, Mountaineers are always free in West Virginia.  Unfortunately, the cost of fraud is not.  And as evidenced by the eye-popping $50 million fraud settlement the federal government just secured from Wheeling Hospital, there is a lot of fraud going around these days.  The problem for the Mountain State is it does not have the proper tools to deal with...

How Pennsylvania Can Win the Battle Against COVID-19 Fraud

Posted  09/11/20
close up of capitol dome with United States flag
With co-author Jack Kolar of the Government Accountability Project. Legislation is now before the Pennsylvania Senate that, if signed into law, would protect COVID-19 stimulus funds, as well as other state programs, from fraud. As former federal prosecutors and current whistleblower attorneys, we strongly urge all Pennsylvanians to support enactment of the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Act (CFPA). While the...

Colorado Law Offers Rewards for Whistleblowers Reporting Workplace Health and Safety Violations

Posted  08/14/20
As lock-downs and business shutdowns continue in the U.S., essential workers continue to report to work, providing healthcare, putting food on our tables, delivering goods and service, ensuring public safety, and more. These essential workers may face serious risks as they perform their jobs, often as a result of workplace health and safety violations by employers. Responding to the unique challenges of the...

Constantine Cannon’s London Office Provides Response to Ireland’s Request for Consultation on the Transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive

Posted  07/24/20
Irish Parliament Leinster House
Members of the Constantine Cannon London whistleblower team, Mary Inman, Carolina González, and Alicja Dijakiewicz-Kocon, recently prepared and submitted a response to the Irish government’s request for public consultation on the transposition of the new EU Whistleblowing Directive. The Directive, which must be transposed into the national laws of EU Member States by 2021, establishes a common minimum standard for...

COVID Frauds of the Week: Fraud on the PPP

Posted  06/26/20
hundared dollar bill zoomed in to president's face
This week’s COVID-19 frauds centered on (temporarily) successful attempts to receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for nonexistent companies and fabricated or inflated employee headcounts. First up is the owner of a wedding planning company that sought personal enrichment via more than $3 million in forgivable PPP loans for his 120 nonexistent employees. Fahad Shah, 44, of Murphy, Texas, was arrested...