Whistleblower News From The Inside -- March 12, 2018

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Former Florida Hospital Surgeon Wins $2.85 million Whistleblower Suit – More than three years after filing a whistleblower lawsuit against Florida Hospital, Dr. Ahmad Chaudhry was awarded $2.85 million by an Orlando jury that decided he was wrongfully fired by the hospital in retaliation for raising concerns about unsafe practices of the then-director of its heart and lung transplant institute. “Our ultimate hope is that Florida Hospital and any other hospital watching learns that you have to put safety first,” said Chaudhry’s attorney, Stuart Ratzan. “And if you don’t do it, there will be consequences.” Florida Hospital didn’t make anyone available for an interview but denied the allegations. “Patient safety is our top concern. Many of the allegations in this case are without merit … and we stand by our arguments as presented to the court,” the hospital said in an e-mail statement. “The court has yet to rule on key motions made during the trial, which will determine if some or all of the verdict can stand. As we wait for the court’s remaining rulings, we are evaluating our next steps. Orlando Sentinel

 California Man Sentenced for Nationwide Tax Refund Fraud – A California man was sentenced today to 64 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, Kefvon Keffen Baker, 42, of Los Angeles, was part of a nationwide bank fraud conspiracy based in Los Angeles in which conspirators have been stealing U.S. Treasury refund checks, using the identities of those taxpayers to open bank accounts, depositing the stolen checks, and withdrawing monies against the deposits. In just one month of activity in the Eastern District of Virginia and nearby Pennsylvania, Baker attempted to steal over $1 million in U.S. Treasury-issued tax refund checks. DOJ

 UBS Missed The Boat On Arbitration In Whistleblower Suit – A bid by UBS Financial Services Inc. to force a former executive’s whistleblower claims into arbitration is too little, too late, a New Jersey federal judge said Thursday, finding the arbitration agreements were valid but UBS waited an inordinate amount of time to try to enforce them. U.S. District Judge William J. Martini said UBS had already made and lost its request to dismiss the suit before seeking to compel arbitration and otherwise hid its intentions from both the court and plaintiff Craig D. Price, waiting until eight months after the complaint was initiated to file its bid. “Defendant’s conduct defied the very purpose behind arbitration: the streamlining of proceedings and the conservation of private and judicial resources,” Judge Martini said. Price, a former UBS wealth adviser in Florida, told Law360 on Friday that he was vindicated by the judge’s decision to allow his claims before a jury rather than an arbitrator. Law360