Whistleblower News from the Inside - July 29, 2014
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Flood of SEC whistleblower complaints continues — According to SEC Whistleblower Chief Sean McKessy, a “critical mass” of tips will soon yield more investigations, fines and bounties: “We’re getting close to the sweet spot.” WSJ
Lloyds Banking Group to pay $380M for LIBOR rate-fixing — The British lender is the latest big bank to admit criminal wrongdoing by its employees in trying to manipulate the global benchmark interest rate. NYT
DOJ joins whistleblower suit against Symantec — The lawsuit alleges the California-based computer software giant overcharged the government by tens of millions by misrepresenting to the GSA the discounts it was offering commercial customers and on which the government’s pricing was based. Washington Post
Tax fraud case against Lionel Messi goes forward — A Spanish judge ruled the Barcelona and Argentina star “could have known and consented” to the creation of a fictitious corporate structure to avoid paying taxes on income from his image rights. ABC News
New reports of academic fraud in scientific papers — “The seamier side of academia, lying, cheating and occasionally stealing, this is the world revealed by” Retraction Watch, a watchdog blog for academic wrongdoing. Washington Post
Smith & Wesson to pay $2M to settle FCPA charges — The SEC charged the gun maker with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by providing guns and cash payments to Pakistani police officials to secure a contract with the Pakistani police department. Boston Globe