Category: News

U.S. Treasury detail on a banknote, highlighting financial implications related to fraud and legal claims against government entities.

A Fraud By Any Other Name Would Be As… Expensive

A Fraud By Any Other Name Would Be As… Expensive The False Claims Act provides for treble damages and a penalty between $5,500 and $11,000 for anyone who submits a false claim to the United States. With treble damages and penalties, committing fraud against the government can become a very expensive proposition. It’s hard to see how...
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Cockpit of a vintage military aircraft featuring a prominent machine gun, illustrating themes of defense and historical aviation related to whistleblower cases in government sectors.

Stapler Fraud – Stealth Fighter Jet Fraud

Stapler Fraud – Stealth Fighter Jet Fraud Sure, office supplies aren’t nearly as sexy or controversial as Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor Stealth fighter. Who hasn’t dreamed of being in the cockpit of a F-22 when our boss is trying to take away our stapler? Unfortunately office supply companies are not immune to the temptations of defrauding the government....
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Thermometer among various pills and capsules, symbolizing healthcare and medical device fraud in whistleblower cases.

Medtronic Shelling out the Big Bucks

Medtronic Shelling out the Big Bucks Medical device manufacturer Medtronic has voluntarily disclosed that it paid almost $16 million in royalties and consulting fees in the first quarter of 2010. Of this amount, the vast majority–$14.2 million–went to orthopaedic specialists or surgeons, with $13.9 million of that in the form of royalties for surgical inventions....
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Tax return document featuring Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, on top of a blue tax returns binder, relevant to IRS whistleblower information.

Why is the IRS Sitting on its Hands?

Why is the IRS Sitting on its Hands? It has been more than three years since UBS whistleblower extraordinaire Bradley Birkenfeld approached the DOJ, IRS, and SEC with information about potential tax evasion by U.S. clients facilitated by UBS AG. Since then, the IRS appears to have been sitting on its haunches and not making...
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Red emergency vehicle light atop a police car, symbolizing law enforcement and public safety in whistleblower cases.

A New Flavor: Ambulance Fraud

A New Flavor: Ambulance Fraud There is fraud at all stages of the health care delivery process, and as a settlement in a district court case in the Eastern District of New York emphasizes, even ambulance companies are trying to get a bigger piece of that Federal pie, courtesy of you the taxpayer. The case is: United States ex...
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Yellow canary perched on a ledge, symbolizing whistleblowing and alertness in the context of fraud and legal issues.

Whistleblower in a Coal Mine

Whistleblower in a Coal Mine Remember the story of the miners who died in the West Virginia coal mine before the story was overshadowed by the latest fossil fuel debacle? Well, a whistleblower has filed a federal whistleblower complaint claiming that Massey fired him in retaliation for pointing out safety violations at mines in West...
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Oil drilling platform at sunset over calm ocean waters, symbolizing the ongoing Gulf oil spill and its implications for environmental and regulatory issues.

Foot Dragging on the Gulf Spill

Foot Dragging on the Gulf Spill It remains to be seen whether the Gulf oil spill will become Obama’s Katrina. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll indicates that at the very least, some people believe that Obama is not doing enough to fix things in the Gulf. The poll found that 59% of respondents do not believe...
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Thermometer among various pills and capsules, symbolizing healthcare and medical device fraud in whistleblower cases.

Unmasking Economic Hit Men: Whistleblowers Against Global Corruption

Crankin’up the HEAT HEAT is the rather odd acronym for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team. It is the brainchild of Attorney General Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius, and despite the great stretches of the imagination it takes to make it work as an acronym (HCFPEAT doesn’t exactly roll...
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Oil refinery at night, illuminated structures and pipelines, industrial setting related to environmental concerns and regulatory scrutiny.

FCA Warming

FCA Warming This is not a good climate in which to be committing fraud against the government.  A new article notes that the FCA is on fire, concluding that [u]nprecedented government spending, recent amendments to the FCA, increased fraud enforcement budgets and priorities, skyrocketing FCA recoveries, state legislative and enforcement activities, and the sheer volume of ongoing...
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Modern office building facade reflecting blue sky, emphasizing corporate environment related to whistleblower legal services.

A Whistleblower SNAFU gets Worse

A Whistleblower SNAFU gets Worse Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq who leaked video of a deadly helicopter attack that killed several people, including a Reuters reporter and a cameraman, has been charged with downloading more than 150,00 highly classified diplomatic cables. In a series of chats with a former outlaw hacker, R. Adrian Lamo,...
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