Whistleblower News From The Inside - March 18, 2015

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Citi, Barclays close to settling forex lawsuit for $800 million —  Citigroup and Barclays are close to settling as early as this week a lawsuit with private investors who say the banks manipulated foreign-exchange rates, and are expected to pay as much as $800 million in settlement.  Reuters

Guardrail whistleblower puts company into bankruptcy — A Virginia man who’s been battling guardrail maker Trinity Industries Inc. over safety concerns has put his own firm, a smaller guardrail maker, into bankruptcy protection.  WSJ

Preet Bharara serious about fighting fraud—   Bharara, recently speaking at a Fordham Law School event, suggested that whistleblower bounties similar to those offered by other federal and state statutes for private sector fraud could aid in combating government corruption. Forbes

Jacksonville dermatology clinic agrees to settle allegations of Medicare fraud —  A $787k settlement has been reached in a federal investigation into allegations that dermatology practice Coastal Dermatology knowingly billed the government for services that were cosmetic and not medically necessary, did not meet Medicare requirements, and billed at a higher reimbursement than appropriate.  The Florida Times-Union

Iowa Supreme Court denies request to review whistleblower case – The Iowa Supreme Court allowed an earlier Court of Appeals’ decision to stand, upholding the reversal of a 2013 verdict because the whistleblower, a former maintenance supervisor, failed to qualify as a whistleblower under Iowa law.  KCCI News

Celebrities set to testify in OXYwater fraud trial  — R&B artist Ne-Yo is among several celebrities and professional athletes expected to testify in federal court this week, in a $9.5 million fraud trial against the operators of a sports-drink company charged with 31 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Dispatch.com