Whistleblower News From The Inside — December 16, 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Prominent whistleblower group heavily criticizes draft report on ethics and compliance programs — Taxpayers Against Fraud said the Chamber of Commerce Institute-funded draft report defining the principles and practices of high-quality ethics and compliance programs lacked substance and an unbiased perspective.  Corporate Crime Reporter

Animal welfare groups slam Idaho’s attempt to revive Ag-Gag law — “The state is appealing a federal judge’s decision in August to invalidate the law, which made it illegal to secretly film animal abuse on farms.”  Public News Service

Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act rewards auto safety whistleblowers but there’s a catch — The whistleblower legislation recently signed into law covers safety issues only and not purely environmental or emissions concerns like those involving the Volkswagon diesel scandal.  Truth About Cars

Thai leader stands up for whistleblower who fled country — Thailand’s junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has called for Police Major General Paween Pongsirin, a whistleblowing police officer who fled to Australia, to return home promising to punish influential figures the officer said want to kill him for exposing their role in human trafficking.  Guardian

Holzer Clinic settles whistleblower lawsuit over Medicare billing — The Ohio-based hospital system, “one of southeastern Ohio’s largest employers, has paid $846,000 to settle whistleblower claims that it and some of its doctors systematically and fraudulently overcharged the federal Medicare program for patient care.”  Columbus Dispatch

Former Russian nuclear energy official sentenced to 48 months for FCPA violations — Vadim Mikerin was also ordered to forfeit more than $2M for his role in arranging more than $2 million in corrupt payments to influence the awarding of contracts with a Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation.  DOJ