The front page headline in this morning’s Atlanta Journal Constitution says it all – Grand Jury: Corruption Part of County Business. Some would say we are becoming immune to government corruption but thankfully most people are still outraged. A special grand jury in suburban Atlanta conducted a year long investigation and found corruption at all […]
Anatomy of a False Claims Act Lawsuit
Recently we wrote about the record false claims act (whistleblower) award paid to pharmacist T. Mark Jones an his company Ven-A-Care. The sheer size of the awards – $597,000,000.00 is itself newsworthy and an inspiration to whistleblowers everywhere. Every time we write about a false claims act case, we get questions from readers. In this […]
America Needs Whistleblowers
In recent months we have railed against the lack of criminal prosecutions tied to the economic meltdown. While tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed (or underemployed / working for significantly less pay / upside down on their mortgages), no executives from America’s Too Large To Fail, Too Large To Jail banks are behind bars. […]
Pharmacists Hit Whistleblower Lottery – Collects $597 Million!
The average Joe buys the occasional Powerball ticket hoping to win a few million bucks. T. Mark Jones, a pharmacist from Key West, decided to roll up his sleeves and become a whistleblower. His investigation of Big Pharma’s overbilling schemes saved taxpayers $3 billion dollars and earned $597,000,000.00 in whistleblower award money. Some say “crime […]
Whistleblower Opportunities – Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Jail Revisited
Every know and then we check back on our “friends,” America’s too big to fail banking behemoths. Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase. Usually when we write a new post its because Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been on the warpath and was able to extract more silence and stuttering from the […]
College Pays Millions In Whistleblower Suit
Northwestern University settled federal fraud charges yesterday following a suit filed by a whistleblower under the federal False Claims Act. University administrators agreed to repay the government $3 million although admitted no wrongdoing. False claims act cases against non-profits are still rare but are increasing in frequency. According to the complaint unsealed yesterday, Professor Charles […]
Whistleblowers to Receive $361,000 in Land Mine Detector Case
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 […]
Defense Contractor Whistleblower Gets $1.8 Award
A former project manager for Science Applications International was awarded $1.8 million for exposing a massive overbilling scheme according to an AP story carried in the Ventura County Star. Prosecutors claimed the company over charged the government for homeland security training programs. Science Applications is a Virginia based defense contractor that employs over 40,000 people […]
One For The Record Books – Fannie Mae Settles Ponzi Scheme Case
Once upon a time, nearly a decade ago, the Federal National Mortgage Association – Fannie Mae – filed suit against a Brooklyn based mortgage company, Olympia Mortgage. When the complaint was filed in 2004, the real estate market was red hot, Fannie Mae was a privately owned company and few imagined the coming housing market […]