Category: Blog

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER A company based in Japan that manufactures printer ink, Toyo Ink, has agreed to pay a $45 million settlement against false claims allegations related to tax and import duties. Among the allegations were those claiming that the company misrepresented its products’ country of origin in order to avoid […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER In Chicago, a whistleblower helped to uncover that Northwestern Memorial Hospital has have violated the False Claims Act. According to whistleblower Audra Soulias, a former employee at Northwestern University, the hospital and university allegedly double-billed Medicare and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for patient reimbursement. Whistleblower Soulias […]

 ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Early this month, there was a victory for seniors and dependent adults when Assembly woman Betsy Butler announced that Governor Brown signed her bill (AB 2149) banning gag orders in senior and dependent adult settlement cases.  With California being the nation’s highest retirement destination and having the greatest […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER A CVS subsidiary group – RxAmerica – will pay a $5.25 million settlement in response to false claims allegations against Medicare. Two related complaints were brought on behalf of the U.S. government by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act. These allegations of Medicare fraud involve the Medicare Part […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Governor Jerry Brown and the California Assembly have passed a bill to expand and amend California’s pre-existing False Claims Act to agree more closely with the Federal False Claims Act. Effective on January 1, 2013, this new law broadens the requirements for whistleblower status and compensation, which could […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The first Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) public enforcement lawsuit was just months ago when the CFPB announced Capital One was to refund $140 million to customers and pay an additional $25 million penalty for also using deceptive marketing practices to mislead cardholders into buying extra products. Now, […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Recently the New York Times filed a motion to disclose court documents that confirm Mitt Romney’s former firm Bain Capital colluded with its competitors in fixing the acquisition prices of multi-billion dollar companies such as the hospital giant HCA.  In this Federal District Court class-action shareholders suit filed […]

Internal Revenue Services (IRS) tax whistle-blower cases have become an essential tool for the Federal government in piercing the corporate veil and aiding in prosecuting illegal practices of large corporations.  Recently a former UBS banker was awarded $104 Million dollars in one of the largest-ever IRS whistle-blower cases based upon […]

Healthcare criminals beware: the federal government is strengthening its healthcare fraud prevention tools.  On July 26, 2012, the Obama Administration announced a public-private partnership focused on improving the detection of fraudulent healthcare billings.  Under the partnership, several private health insurance organizations, anti-fraud groups, and government agencies have agreed to share […]

The IRS Whistleblower Office was established in 2007 pursuant to the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (the “Act”).  The Act amended preexisting IRS whistleblower laws in order to encourage individuals with knowledge of significant tax noncompliance to provide information to the IRS.  In part, the Act accomplished […]