FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, issued a Regulatory Notice reminding firms that they cannot use settlement agreements to restrict the ability of individuals to communicate with the SEC and other regulatory authorities regarding potential securities law violations. According to FINRA, such confidentiality provisions violate FINRA Rule 2010, Standards of Commercial Honor and Principles of…
Supreme Court Declines to Weigh in on What Constitutes an Instrumentality under FCPA
The Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari that asked the court to restrict the application of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act’s “instrumentality” provision. Under the FCPA, companies or individuals can be liable for making payments to foreign officials, including those that work for an instrumentality of a foreign government. The Department of Justice…
IRS Announces 2015 Sequestration Award Reductions
Since sequestration first went into effect in 2013, the IRS has been operating under automatic budget reductions. According to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen at a recent conference of whistleblower attorneys, the IRS is one of the few federal agencies that has not had their budget restored. As a result of the continued budget cuts, the reductions…
Government Collects $22.6 Million On Rigged Bid
Three defense contractors–Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Lockheed Corp. and former federal employee, Dale Galloway and his corporation Applied Enterprise Solutions–along with the former Director and Deputy Director of the Navy Oceanograph Office (NAVO) supercomputer center have agreed to pay the U.S. government $22.6 million to settle False Claims Act allegations against them. The Department…
SEC Awards Whistleblower $30 Million
The SEC announced an award of $30 million to a whistleblower whose report of securities violations led to a successful SEC action and related enforcement actions. The award is the largest paid to date under the Dodd Frank whistleblower program established in 2010. According to the SEC, this is the fourth award issued to a…
A Plus to Pay $1.65M for Sham-Job Kickbacks
A Florida healthcare company called A Plus Home Health Care Inc. and its owners have agreed to pay $1.65 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that the company induced referrals by hiring the spouses of referring physicians for sham jobs. According to the government, A Plus hired the partners of physicians for sham “marketing”…
IRS Commissioner Throws Weight Behind Whistleblower Program
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen issued a statement in August which he called the IRS Whistleblower Program “an important tool for improving tax administration” and said that he is “a strong believer in this program.” Commissioner Koskinen, whose remarks on the program were a first for a standing IRS Commissioner, also said that the information whistleblowers provide about…
Johnson & Johnson Pleads Guilty to Misbranding Natrecor; Still Faces FCA Case
Johnson & Johnson’s Scios unit, which manufactures the congestive heart failure drug Natrecor, agreed to pay an $85 million penalty and plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of misbranding medication due to inadequate directions on Natrecor’s label. The agreement also resolves any potential offenses based on Johnson & Johnson’s sale and marketing of Natrecor. Johnson…
DOJ Files Suit Alleging Reliance Medical Systems Paid Kickbacks through Physician-Owned Distributors
The Department of Justice announced that it had filed its own complaint in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Reliance Medical Systems, a spinal implant company, set up physician-owned distributorships in order to funnel payments to physicians who were using the company’s surgical implants. According to the government’s complaint, Reliance allowed physicians who were using the…
Two Skilled Nursing Companies Pay $3.75 Million for Unnecessary Rehab Services
Two companies, Life Care Services (LCS) and ParkVista, have agreed to pay $3.75 million in connection with rehabilitation services provided in their skilled nursing facilities. According to the government, both companies hired RehabCare to provide rehabilitation therapy services to their patients. RehabTherapy allegedly provided unreasonable and unnecessary therapy, which increased the reimbursement LCS and ParkVista…