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Multiple Whistleblowers and First-to-File

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to multiple whistleblowers and first-to-file issues in whistleblower litigation. You may also be interested in our pages:

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March 11, 2022

A whistleblower was awarded $14 million by the SEC in a decision that departed from the recommendation of the Claims Review Staff to deny the award.  A report about a fraud committed by a company and its CEO was published online; two individuals claimed to be authors of the report, which contained analysis derived from a large number of publicly-available and non-public sources.  Neither submitted a TCR to the SEC at the time the report was published, although the whistleblower who received the award provided the report directly to Commission staff and provided additional information during the course of the enforcement action that the SEC initiated based on the report’s allegations.   The whistleblower did submit a TCR two months after the SEC posted a Notice of Covered Action, more than four years after the report was publicly released.  The Commission found that it would be in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors to exercise its discretionary authority and grant an award despite the individual’s failure to initially file a TCR.  The second claimant, who did not submit a TCR at any time, and who did not communicate with enforcement staff, was denied an award.  SEC

January 21, 2022

Two unidentified whistleblowers were jointly awarded $37 million based on findings that they voluntarily provided key evidence to the government, which significantly contributed to the government’s understanding of the underlying wrong, and provided ongoing assistance during the government’s investigation.  The award is based on amounts recovered in a successful enforcement action by the SEC, as well as a separate related action by a different, unidentified, agency.  SEC

November 22, 2021

Two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with new and significant information during an existing investigation, including information about misconduct occurring in different geographic areas, received awards of approximately $6.2 million and $1.3 million.  The award to the first claimant was also based in part on a recovery in a related action, based on findings that the whistleblower provided information to the relevant other agency.  In support of the first claimant’s larger award, the SEC also cited that their information was more significant, that the majority of the relief ordered was based on information provided by them, that they reported their concerns internally prior than reporting to the SEC, and they reported more expeditiously.  SEC

October 8, 2021

U.S. Medical Management, LLC (USMM) and VPA, P.C. (VPA) have agreed to pay $8.5 million to resolve claims raised in five separate qui tam lawsuits that USMM and VPA billed Medicare for medically unnecessary laboratory and diagnostic testing services between 2010 and 2015.  Although the government did not join any of the lawsuits, the whistleblower who filed first will receive $1.53 million under the alternate remedy provision of the False Claims Act.  USAO EDMI

September 3, 2021

A number of South Carolina pain management clinics, drug testing laboratories and other entities associated with chiropractor Daniel McCollum have had default judgments entered against them ordering the payment of $140 million.  The defendant entities, Oaktree Medical Centre P.C., FirstChoice Healthcare P.C., Labsource LLC, Pain Management Associates entities, ProLab LLC, and ProCare Counseling Center LLC, were alleged to have provided illegal financial incentives to providers to induce their referrals of urine drug tests in violation of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute, and to have submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary urine drug testing, steroid injections, opioid prescriptions, and lidocaine ointment prescriptions.  The settlement resolves claims against the entities brought in three separate qui tam actions Donna Rauch, Muriel Calhoun, Brandy Knight, Karen Mathewson and Tracy Hawkins, former employees of pain management clinics owned or operated by McCollum. The government continues to pursue claims against McCollum.  DOJ; USAO SC; November, 2021 judgment against McCollum

May 17, 2021

The SEC made an award of $750,000 to one whistleblower and $3.75 million to a second whistleblower based on findings that they provided information that assisted SEC staff in related civil and criminal proceedings against a company and individual.  The first individual provided information relevant to the action against the individual only, but did so more than five years after learning of the violation.  The second individual, who received a larger award, was originally denied any award by the SEC, but, upon reconsideration, the SEC concluded that they had voluntarily provided information to the Commission prior to being contacted by the Commission.  Three other claimants were denied awards.  SEC

May 17, 2021

Two whistleblowers were awarded a total of $27 million, with the SEC finding that the information they jointly and voluntarily provided aided an enforcement action which resulted in the return of millions of dollars to harmed investors, even through most of the information the individuals provided was already known the SEC from other sources. The two individuals had also reported their concerns internally and met in-person with SEC staff over the course of two days. SEC

Partner Mary Inman discusses SEC whistleblower reward program and Reenvisioning Whistleblowers as Forward Indicator of Risk at Stanford Rock Center “Whistleblowers, Ethics and Compliance” Event

Posted  03/19/21
On January 19, 2021, Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman joined several esteemed co-panelists to discuss the recent amendments to the SEC Whistleblower program’s rules, SEC whistleblowers’  impact on securities law enforcement, and the nature and frequency of corporate whistleblowing in the “Whistleblowers, Ethics and Compliance” event organized by Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance. The...
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