FCPA Enforcement in 2017
The end of the Obama Administration was one of the busiest in the resolution of government investigations ever. The SEC and DOJ wrapped up nine
IRS Whistleblower Awards Up Big in FY 2016
In the 10th year since the creation of Internal Revenue Code section 7623(b), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Whistleblower Program issued 418 awards totaling more than
Deeper Insights into Government Enforcement Under Trump Administration
It was an interesting week on government enforcement as the Obama Administration is closing out its term with fines against auto industry manufacturers VW ($4.3
Study: Whistleblowers Deter Wrongdoing
A study of whistleblower retaliation cases at 317 public companies in the United States out of the University of Iowa has concluded that businesses that have had a
OSHA Guidelines: Protecting Whistleblowers from Retaliation
Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration offered a set of recommendations for employers to create retaliation-free workplaces. The guidance is directed at employers
A $4 Billion Fine for Volkswagen
A $4 Billion Fine for Volkswagen Reuters is reporting that Volkswagen AG and the Justice Department are near an agreement to resolve criminal and civil
Whistleblower Retaliation: A Turning Point in 2016?
The Prevalence of Whistleblower Retaliation The prevalence of retaliation by corporations against whistleblowers has been well documented. Not only does it serve to punish those
False Claims Act Yields $519 Million for Whistleblowers in FY2016
False Claims Act Helps Recover $4.7 Billion The Justice Department announced the third highest annual recovery in the history of the False Claims Act yesterday
5 Areas Where President Trump Will Pay Whistleblowers
President Trump Will Pay Whistleblowers There has already been much commentary on the impact that President Trump and his administration will have on government enforcement
One Year Later, No NHTSA Whistleblower Rules Announcement
No NHTSA Whistleblower Rules Yet When Congress passed the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act as part of the FAST Act last December, it gave the
Permanent Whistleblower Protections for Federal Contractors
Permanent Whistleblower Protections A bill sponsored by Senator Claire McCaskill to make permanent a pilot program applying whistleblower protections to contractors, subcontractors, grant recipients, and
Supreme Court Upholds Insider Trading Conviction in Salman
The Supreme Court issued its decision in Salman v. United States today, the first insider trading case to reach the Justices in more than 20 years. The
Supreme Court: District Court has Discretion on False Claims Act Seal Violations
The Supreme Court upheld a verdict for two whistleblowers in its opinion today in State Farm v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby despite a violation of the False Claims
SEC Pursues Weatherford: A Case of Accounting Fraud
The SEC has announced a $140 million settlement with Weatherford International over the use of deceptive income tax accounting to inflate its earnings. Weatherford is
The SEC Enforcement Director Speaks on the SEC Whistleblower Program
The SEC Enforcement Director, Andrew Ceresney, spoke yesterday about the SEC whistleblower program at the Taxpayers Against Fraud Conference in Washington, D.C. There’s some great
CFTC Proposes Whistleblower Program Changes
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register related to the CFTC whistleblower awards process. The
SEC Whistleblower Program Tops $100 Million in Payouts
Six years after Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act to reform Wall Street and prevent a future financial crisis from developing, the Securities and Exchange Commission
First Reverse False Claims Case on Health Care Funds Settles
A closely watched case out of New York concerning the reverse false claims provision of the False Claims Act settled last week. The case was groundbreaking not