Two former executives of CyTerra Corporation became whistleblowers and are now slated to receive $361,000 for their efforts in uncovering pricing problems with their former company. CyTerra manufactures portable land mine detectors for the U.S. military. Earlier this month federal prosecutors settled with the company for $1.9 million. In 2003, the Army contracted with CyTerra […]
Whistleblowers Key to Fighting Government Fraud
The federal government loses billions of dollars to fraud every year. Mortgage companies falsify documents in order to earn commissions on loans. When the borrower can’t pay, the FHA or Fannie Mae steps in – your tax dollars. Ditto for doctors that bill Medicare for unnecessary services or services not even performed. Same for vendors […]
Buy America Act – Chinese Steel – Whistleblower Post
During the height of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt and Congress passed a number of measures designed to spur the national economy. Part of Washington’s “New Deal” package was the Buy American Act; a law that required the federal government to prefer American made goods in its purchases. Later, the Buy American law was supplemented […]
Whistleblower Leads To Fed Probe Of Prominent Miami Developer
Many federal investigations begin with a complaint from a concerned employee or citizen; a whistleblower. From a story in today’s Miami Herald, it appears two whistleblowers are behind the federal investigation of Carlisle Development Group and its CEO, Matthew Greer. Until now, both the company and Greer had spotless reputations. Press reports say the feds […]
Lance Armstrong Named In Whistleblower Suit
by Brian Mahany Almost 2 years ago, Floyd Landis filed a false claims act (whistleblower) suit against teammate Lance Armstrong. That complaint remained under seal for over two years while the government investigated. Several weeks ago, the government intervened and adopted the action against Armstrong. The government seeks return of some $17 million in sponsorship […]
Nursing Homes – Next Wave Of Whistleblower Cases? (False Claims Act)
by Brian Mahany The front page headline of today’s Wall Street Journal says it all – “As America Ages, Shortage Of Help Hits Nursing Homes.” The fastest growing segment of America’s population are baby boomers and they are starting to hit their mid 60’s. As the demand for nursing home beds increases, the amount of […]
Banks Accused of TARP Fund Abuse – Whistleblower Post
by Brian Mahany The Inspector General for the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) issued a stinging report criticizing both small banks and the government itself. One TARP program, the Small Business Lending Fund, was intended by Congress to jump start the economy by getting loans to small business. Instead, some banks simply took […]
Mortgage Execs Face Civil Charges But No Jail – Whistleblower Post
by Brian Mahany Once upon a time, Thornburg Mortgage was one of the largest real estate lenders in the nation. Like our perennial “favorite” Allied Home Mortgage, Thornburg had more than its fair share of problems. While HUD ultimately caused Allied to collapse, Thornburg met a similar fate after a $36 billion bankruptcy filing. Four […]
Company's Attempt To Force Arbitration of Whistleblowers Claims Shot Down
by Brian Mahany Arbitration clauses are where many of the big legal battles are being waged these days. Employers and businesses want to force workers to arbitrate their claims. While there are sometimes advantages to arbitration, in many cases the arbitration clauses are biased against workers. We don’t automatically disfavor arbitration, however it has to […]
More News On Phone Subsidy Mess – Whistleblower Opportunity
by Brian Mahany Just one week ago we posted an article about the developing controversy with the federal cellphone Lifeline program. A report first published in the Wall Street Journal said that as many as 41% of the 6 million participants in the program may not meet federal eligibility guidelines. This number was based on […]