On August 7, 2018, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (“Paxton”) announced that the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca LP (“AstraZeneca”) has agreed to a $110 million settlement to satisfy claims it violated the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act by falsely marketing its Crestor and Seroquel drugs. AstraZeneca was already under the increased regulations of a corporate integrity […]
An employee discovered that his boss was violating security procedures. Instead of rushing to report it to the Securities and Exchange Commission, he first alerted the company executives so they could handle the situation. As a result, he was fired. Does this case count as whistleblower retaliation? The Supreme Court is asking that same question […]
Trillions of dollars are paid out every year through government programs. With this much money passing hands, it can be difficult to track where all this money goes, which can provide the opportunity for fraud. Laws like the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and the Whistleblower Protection Act (“WPA”) were implemented to help protect the government […]
Whistleblowers are an important asset in fraud litigation because they provide insider information that would not otherwise be available to regulators, law enforcers, and private attorneys. Because whistleblowers are so important, they are protected under statutes such as the False Claims and Dodd-Frank Act. Sometimes, this protection even supersedes the confidential and privileged communications restrictions […]
In the wake of the recent U.S. presidential election, lawyers for Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, have revealed that they intend to appeal incoming president Donald Trump to end an ongoing criminal investigation into their client. The investigation began in 2010 after WikiLeaks released controversial documents, supplied by U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning, relating to […]
As discussed in a previous SFMS blog, whistleblowers can be employees, suppliers, contractors, clients, or any individual who becomes aware of illegal activities – including attorneys. Although whistleblowers are often incentivized to come forward with information about legal violations, attorneys should be aware of specific restrictions before blowing the whistle. Recently, New York State Judge […]
Just one week ago, the Hebrew Homes Health Network, Inc., along with its former president and executive director, came to an agreement with the authorities: They would pay $17 million to close the False Claims Act case against them. According to a recent article in The National Law Review, Hebrew Homes was charged with violating […]
U.S. businesses are required to follow and abide by various legal rules and regulations. Many of the laws that govern U.S. business activities are in place to protect consumers and the environment. Additionally, regulatory measures have been enacted to ensure for the safety and wellbeing of employees as well as to safeguard against unfair and […]
Washington D.C. (“D.C.”) public schools have reached a $19.4 million settlement with Chartwells, a food contractor that is a subsidiary of Compass Group USA Inc. The D.C. school district alleged that Chartwells violated the United States False Claims Act by overcharging schools when providing its meal programs for children. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Chartwells […]
Government customers of United Parcel Service Co. (UPS) overpaid the company because it falsified delivery records over a 10-year period, according to a lawsuit UPS recently settled. The whistleblower suit was filed by a former driver and manager for UPS. Now he is expected to receive $3.75 million for bringing the allegedly false claims to […]
