Whistleblower News From The Inside -- September 8, 2017
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Ex-Amazon analyst pleads guilty to fraud charge — A former financial analyst at Amazon has pleaded guilty to an insider-trading charge, admitting in court he tipped off a college friend to information about the company’s forthcoming earnings report in spring 2015. Brett D. Kennedy of Blaine resigned from Amazon in May. Prosecutors said that his former fraternity brother at the University of Washington, Maziar Rezakhani, made stock trades based on the information Kennedy provided, quickly profited $116,000 and then paid Kennedy $10,000 in cash for the tip. KGMI
State Street Paying Penalties to Settle Fraud Charges and Disclosure Failures — The SEC today announced that State Street has agreed to pay more than $35 million to settle charges that it fraudulently charged secret markups for transition management services and separately omitted material information about the operation of its platform for trading U.S. Treasury securities. An SEC order finds that State Street’s scheme to overcharge transition management customers generated approximately $20 million in improper revenue for the firm. State Street used false trading statements, pre-trade estimates, and post-trade reports to misrepresent its compensation on various transactions, especially purchases and sales of bonds and other securities that trade outside large transparent markets. SEC
Wells Fargo Whistleblower Lawsuit Revived — A federal appeals court revived a whistleblower lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co by two former employees who said they were fired for trying to report misconduct by lenders that the bank later absorbed. The Second Circuit ordered a federal district judge to revisit the case, which concerned behavior predating the 2008 financial crisis and recent scandals concerning Wells Fargo’s own practices, after the Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, made it easier for some whistleblowers to sue. Reuters
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s wife ‘facing fraud charges’ — The attorney general said he would make a final decision pending a pre-trial hearing for Sara Netanyahu. Mrs. Netanyahu is suspected of misusing 359,000 shekels ($100,000; £77,000) of state funds for catering purposes, the justice ministry said. Prime Minister Netanyahu said the claims against his wife were “absurd.” Avichai Mandelblit’s announcement is the strongest indication yet as to whether Mrs. Netanyahu will be charged, following a long-running investigation, which has been the subject of intense speculation in the Israeli media. BBC