In a January 10, 2018 memo that leaked last week (the “Granston Memo”), the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) directs its prosecutors to more seriously consider dismissing meritless False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases brought by...more
On December 7, 2017, an Illinois appellate court held that co-defendants in a case who agree to share information pursuant to their common interest in defeating their litigation opponent do not waive either the...more
...On July 25, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it was awarding nearly $2.5 million to a government employee who tipped off the SEC to a company’s wrongdoing.
Although the SEC does not...more
10/19/2017
/ Appeals ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Investors ,
Misclassification ,
OFCCP ,
Private Sector ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Split of Authority ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
Whistleblower Developments is a periodic report covering significant cases, decisions, proposals, and legislation related to whistleblower statutes and how they may impact your business. ...more
7/25/2017
/ Amended Rules ,
Certiorari ,
CFTC ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial CHOICE Act ,
Internal Reporting ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Split of Authority ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Whistleblower Developments is a periodic report covering significant cases, decisions, proposals, and legislation related to whistleblower statutes and how they may impact your business. ...more
4/21/2017
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Investment Adviser ,
Job Duties ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Split of Authority ,
Supervisors ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
According to a memo circulating amongst Republican-party leaders as of February 13th, Republicans in the House of Representatives are planning to propose a significant curtailment of the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
2/26/2017
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Conspiracies ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Morgan Stanley ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Rollbacks ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Waiver of Rights ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Escobar and Sanford-Brown Decisions -
This summer, the United States Supreme Court undertook to resolve the long-running circuit split over the validity and scope of the implied false certification theory of...more
SEC Brings First Stand-Alone Whistleblower Retaliation Enforcement Action -
On September 29, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought its first stand-alone whistleblower retaliation case under...more
10/10/2016
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Popular ,
Remediation ,
Remedies ,
Rule 21F ,
Sanctions ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Severance Agreements ,
Standard of Review ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
SEC Awards Bounty to Whistleblower, But Offsets Award for a Judgment Against the Whistleblower -
The extent to which the SEC would reward whistleblowers, who themselves engaged in wrongdoing, has been the subject of...more
4/13/2016
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Amicus Briefs ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Investigations ,
Protected Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
This week, the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a pilot program that extends additional “mitigation credit” to qualifying companies that “fully cooperate” in matters involving the Foreign Corrupt...more
4/9/2016
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Individual Accountability ,
Internal Investigations ,
Popular ,
Remediation ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
By now, providers are very familiar with Medicare recovery audit contractors, or RACs – the private companies who have authority to review medical records at a moment’s notice. For every dollar they opine has been improperly...more
Several important matters related to whistleblower actions occurred toward the close of 2015, including the first instance of a director being held individually liable for retaliation, a dismissal of the Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy...more
1/8/2016
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
CFTC ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Second Circuit Splits from Fifth Circuit on Whistleblower SEC Reporting Obligations
On September 10, 2015, the Second Circuit in Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy LLC, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 16071 (2d Cir. 2015), ruled that...more
10/5/2015
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Internal Reporting ,
Interpretive Rule ,
OSHA ,
Protected Activity ,
Reversal ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Termination ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Department of Justice (DOJ) long has required entities seeking credit for cooperating with its investigations to provide what it terms “full and truthful” cooperation. In policies memorialized over time, DOJ has been...more
9/18/2015
/ Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Veil ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Government Investigations ,
Guidance Update ,
Individual Accountability ,
Internal Investigations ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Personal Liability ,
Policy Statement ,
Professional Misconduct ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
Americans with secret accounts in Belize should take notice: the government is looking for you. The U.S. Department of Justice on September 15 filed a petition in federal court in Miami seeking permission to issue summonses...more
9/18/2015
/ Bank of America ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Citibank ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FBAR ,
Fines ,
Foreign Bank Accounts ,
IRS ,
John Doe Investigation ,
Offshore Banks ,
Summons
In a much-anticipated decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit set up a possible showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court when it decided on September 10 that whistleblowers need not report to the SEC in order to...more
SEC Awards Another Whistleblowing Compliance Officer -
On April 22, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an award between $1.4 and $1.6 million to a compliance officer who provided information...more
7/8/2015
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Certificates of Compliance ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Internal Investigations ,
IRS ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Court ,
Upjohn Warnings ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
As most recently spotlighted by the Department of Justice’s intervention in whistleblower claims against ManorCare, DOJ is increasing its enforcement of the False Claims Act (FCA) against therapy providers. In particular, DOJ...more
April 3, 2015, the Second Circuit handed a significant victory to prospective defendants in insider trading cases — as well as the two defendants whose convictions had been reversed — by denying U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s...more
After repeated public statements warning companies that might seek to stifle whistleblowers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought its first enforcement action relating to language in confidentiality...more
The U.S. government has changed up its approach to criminal health care fraud prosecutions, joining forces with fiscal intermediaries on the civil side to ramp up investigations, and this new tactic has proven to be a cash...more
The December 23, 2014, announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that Alstom, S.A., a French power and transportation company, pled guilty to two Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges and agreed to pay $772...more
12/30/2014
/ Accounting Controls ,
Alstom ,
Bribery ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Indictments ,
Subsidiaries
In its important ruling on what the government must prove in a criminal insider trading prosecution, the Second Circuit reversed the convictions of two portfolio managers — throwing out their cases completely, with no new...more
12/15/2014
/ Dell ,
Hedge Funds ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
NVIDIA ,
Personal Benefit ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
US v Newman
A recent federal court decision raises concerns about the ability of companies to maintain privilege over materials generated in connection with internal investigations. The case, United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton...more
When faced with questions from a government investigator, a person’s silence can now be used in a criminal trial against the person who was questioned and declined to provide an answer....more