Whistleblower News From The Inside — January 4, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Quicken’s counterpunch against feds is dismissed – The mortgage lender claimed that the government unfairly targeted lenders after the 2008 mortgage crisis. The Quicken suit had been filed days before the DOJ filed a suit against the company, alleging it approved loans that didn’t meet federal standards. Detroit News
Judge allows suit challenging Wyoming’s “ag-gag” law to proceed, citing “serious concerns and questions about the constitutionality of various provisions” – A federal judge denied Wyoming’s motion to dismiss a suit brought by animal rights activists, saying that the statute “appears to simply be a façade for content or viewpoint discrimination.” “Ag-gag” laws have been introduced in several states; Idaho’s law was struck down in August. Christian Science Monitor
Pathways Genomics pays $4 million to settle kickback suit brought by whistleblower – The company paid physicians to refer patients for costly genetic tests that analyzed risks for certain cancers and other diseases. A former Pathway employee brought the original suit. Courthouse News
Barclays will pay $13.75 million to resolve charges it improperly switched clients in and out of mutual funds – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority charged that Barclays had failed to stop unsuitable switches between mutual funds, resulting in $8.6 million in customer harm. Broker-dealers have an obligation to ensure that such switches are to the client’s advantage. Transaction fees can undermine those advantages. NY Times
Two more banks settle under the Swiss Bank Program – Bank Lombard Odier and DZ Privatbank have resolved potential criminal liabilities in the U.S. for their involvement in tax-related criminal offenses in connection with undeclared U.S.-related accounts. Lombard Odier will pay nearly $100 million and DZ Privatbank will pay $7.5 million. DOJ
Foreign Corrupt Practices will be focus of DOJ enforcement in 2016 – With the addition of 10 new staff members to its FCPA Unit, experts think the U.S. Dept. of Justice is poised to bring high impact cases. WSJ