Category: False Claims

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) first initiated its whistleblower program back in 2010. It gave two key features to persuade whistleblowers to come forth: (1) monetary rewards for vital information and (2) anonymity for protection. Four years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission made good on their […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER In 2010, a whistleblower came forth with information showing Extendicare Health Services Inc., a nursing home chain, was defrauding Medicare and Medicaid by charging patients for below-average care. Now, the nursing home chain will be paying $38 million to settle the failure-of-care claims – the largest amount ever […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Two words: employer retaliation. Whistleblowers don’t normally report wrongdoing to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the attention.  In fact, whistleblowers report misconduct because they were retaliated against in some manner such as wrongful termination, leading them to seek outside help.  In […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Thanks to whistleblowers, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) can boast an increase in cases – over 686 cases in 2014 alone. This is a first since 2011.  In addition to the increase in numbers of whistleblower cases, the Securities Exchange Commission has had other notable marks: seven of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER An individual living overseas has been awarded over $30 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for providing information on a difficult to detect ongoing fraud. This $30 million award is a record amount in US whistleblower awards. Whistleblowers are the keys to discovering fraud and misconduct […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER In August, Community Health Systems, Inc. (CHS) and Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporation along with 119 of their hospitals settled seven False Claims Act lawsuits for $98 million. Whistleblowers from all around the country came forth with information regarding the inappropriate practices of CHS and its associated […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at the New York University School of Law, Attorney General Holder proposed an increase in rewards to Wall Street whistleblowers who report financial fraud. His proposal involved providing incentives for witness cooperation in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) to […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Astonishingly, even before completing discovery, or trial, one of two federal fraud suits against Omnicare has returned an unprecedented settlement, a staggering $124 million. The two qui tam suits filed against Omnicare are: United States ex rel Gale v. Omnicare, Inc., and United States ex rel Silver v. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Courts have lowered the level of proof required by employees who want to report a potential fraud or securities violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley act. The 2nd Circuit recently decided in the case of Nielsen v. AECOM Technology Corp that a new “reasonable person” standard would apply to Sarbanes-Oxley […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER A federal judge recently ruled that whistleblowers do not need to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to be protected from retaliation in the workplace. This ruling is welcome news to whistleblowers who fear coming forward to expose fraud. California whistleblower and securities attorneys are […]