Whistleblower News From The Inside -- November 16, 2016
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
SEC releases 2016 report on the Dodd-Frank whistleblower program –- The SEC’s annual report on the Dodd-Frank whistleblower program touts its continuing success in enforcement and highlights its whistleblower awards. In August 2016, the SEC announced that its awards to whistleblowers since the beginning of the program have surpassed the $100 million mark and, in 2016 alone, the agency issued awards totaling over $57 million—higher than all award amounts issued in previous years combined. SEC
Trump’s effort to gut Dodd-Frank may spare whistleblowers — Two Republican lawmakers with sway in the Trump camp, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, have voiced support for programs meant to reward workers who bring allegations of governmental wrongdoing to U.S. officials. That gives recent whistleblower rules a degree of political cover that doesn’t necessarily extend to other financial regulations made possible by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. Chicago Tribune
New Jersey cardiac monitoring company agrees to pay over $1.35M to resolve kickback claims — MedNet Inc., a Ewing, New Jersey-based remote cardiac monitoring company and a subsidiary of BioTelemetry Inc., has agreed to pay more than $1.35 million to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to induce physicians to use the company’s cardiac monitoring services. NJ-DOJ
China’s most-wanted corruption suspect surrenders— China’s most-wanted corruption suspect, Yang Xiuzhu, a former deputy director of Wenzhou’s construction bureau, surrendered to Chinese authorities after spending 13 years in hiding overseas. Yang fled China in April 2003 after authorities began investigating her alleged involvement in criminal activities and sought political asylum in France, the Netherlands and then the United States. Reuters
Navy officer pleads guilty in massive fraud and corruption scandal — Michael Brooks, who served as the U.S. Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, used his office and position to benefit Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a defense contracting firm based in Singapore, in exchange for travel and entertainment expenses, hotel rooms and the services of prostitutes. Brooks also provided GDMA with sensitive, internal U.S. Navy information, including billing information belonging to a GDMA competitor and U.S. Navy ship schedules. DOJ