A judge in London ordered a subsidiary of the manufacturer Airbus to pay more than $41 million after pleading guilty to bribing senior Saudi Arabian officials in an agreement to supply Saudi Arabia’s national guard with communications and electronic warfare equipment. The company had previously admitted to paying bribes to win work from the Saudi…
DOJ Indicts 23 on Federal CARES Act Unemployment Fraud Charges
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced today that a federal grand jury in Virginia returned an indictment charging 23 individuals for their roles in a large conspiracy to defraud the United States government by filing claims for nearly $500,000 in pandemic unemployment benefits. According to DOJ, the defendants conspired to file claims for pandemic unemployment…
CFTC Awards Approximately $3 Million to Whistleblower
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) announced an award of approximately $3 million to a whistleblower whose “specific, credible, and timely tip led the CFTC to open an investigation and ultimately bring a successful enforcement action.” According to the CFTC, tips from whistleblowers have led to enforcement actions by the agency that have resulted in…
Sixth Circuit Holds that False Claims Act Prohibits Post-Employment Retaliation
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has held that the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) anti-retaliation provision protects former employees alleging post-termination retaliation, reversing a district court’s partial dismissal of an amended complaint from Dr. David Felten against his former employer, William Beaumont Hospital (“Beaumont”). The FCA prohibits employers…
Neil V. Getnick Appears on Podcast to Discuss PPP Fraud and Compliance
G&G Managing Partner Neil V. Getnick appeared on Compliance Perspectives, a podcast of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (“SCCE”) and the Health Care Compliance Association (“HCCA”), to discuss the issue of fraud associated with the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). Mr. Getnick explained how businesses are committing fraud through various means – such as…
Justice Department Reports Focus on COVID-19 Related Fraud
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced today an update on its civil and criminal enforcement efforts to combat COVID-19 related fraud, which have focused on identifying schemes that target the Paycheck Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and Unemployment Insurance programs. DOJ reported that it has publicly charged 474 defendants with criminal offenses…
DOJ Secures Guilty Plea in $24 Million COVID-Relief Fraud Scheme
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced today that a Texas man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $24.8 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans and laundering the proceeds. According to DOJ, the Defendant admitted that he submitted 15 fraudulent applications to eight different lenders seeking to secure PPP…
International Rescue Committee to Pay $6.9 Million for Procurement Fraud
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that the International Rescue Committee (“IRC”) has agreed to pay $6.9 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) related to funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”) intended for people affected by the conflict in Syria. While IRC received USAID funding for humanitarian assistance…
Whistleblower Highlights Tax Avoidance Scheme
More than seven years after Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false tax returns to avoid paying U.S. taxes, a whistleblower complaint alleges that the bank has nonetheless continued its illegal practices. According to a new report from the New York Times, the whistleblower, a former Credit…
Senator Grassley Discusses Importance of False Claims Act, Proposes Potential Reforms
During a keynote address for the 2021 Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Conference, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) discussed the need for certain reforms to the False Claims Act (“FCA”). Senator Grassley, who was a key architect of the FCA’s 1986 Amendments, highlighted the importance of the FCA, noting that it has recovered more than $64…