Whistleblower News From The Inside -- October 30, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Paramedics Plus unable to shake kickback accusations in Texas case – A federal judge in Texas this week refused to dismiss accusations that Sioux Falls’ hired ambulance service participated in a kickback scheme for a contract the company held in Oklahoma. A whistleblower’s lawsuit against Paramedics Plus alleges the ambulance service was created by a Texas hospital after that hospital was promised a contract with emergency medical authorities in Oklahoma. In return, Paramedics Plus’ parent, the East Texas Medical Center, agreed to pay a certain portion of its profits back to Oklahoma officials. Sioux Falls Argus Leader 

Whistleblower Protections Here To Stay, Expert Says – No matter how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a closely watched case challenging the Dodd-Frank Act’s ban on retaliation against whistleblowers, reprisals against employees who report internal violations of securities regulations will remain illegal, a white-collar attorney and former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official said Thursday. David L. Kornblau, who spent 10 years in the SEC’s enforcement division and now heads Covington & Burling LLP’s securities enforcement practice, said the main takeaway for companies and employees watching the case is “what’s not at stake.” That, Kornblau said, is that it will still be illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers, regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the Dodd-Frank ban. “That proposition isn’t going away,” he said during a panel discussion at the Securities Enforcement Forum 2017, an annual conference in Washington. Law360

Central NY Military Contractor Pays $150,460 to Resolve False Claims Act Exposure – GB Enterprises, Inc. (JGB) paid $150,460 today to resolve claims that it improperly billed the United States Army for repair kits for the Army’s tank recovery vehicle because the kits included parts from unapproved sources, announced Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith. JGB had a firm-fixed price agreement with the government to provide engine overhaul kits for the Army’s Recovery Vehicle, M51/M74/M88 (the “Contract”).  The Contract contains a source-controlled provision.  That provision requires that certain parts be obtained from specified manufacturers who have approved quality-control plans concerning the manufacture of their parts. DOJ