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 […]
Whistleblower Opportunities Abound – Medicaid Fraud At All Time High
by Brian Mahany With all the press and media attention on big whistleblower case these days, one would think that fraud would soon go the way of smallpox, it would be eradicated. Unfortunately, as long as greed continues in our society, so will fraud. A couple weeks ago, Congress’ House Committee on Oversight and Government […]
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 […]
Mahany & Ertl File Amicus Brief In Important Whistleblower Protection Case
by Brian Mahany Buried in the Federal Register last week was an invitation to file amicus briefs in the current Merit Systems Protection Board case, Barbara King vs. Department of the Air Force. Partner Joe Bird and Mahany & Ertl are proud to represent Barbara in her pursuit of justice. At stake is the critical issue […]
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 […]
Bad News For Fraudsters In Wisconsin – Whistleblower Post
by Brian Mahany Early this morning I wrote about the never ending battle against fraud. This afternoon, a little bit of good news. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that last year the state, several counties and a private investigative firm were able to identify over $14 million in fraud within the FoodShare and Medicaid programs. […]
Rich vs. Poor (Corporate Fraud Blog)
by Brian Mahany As the Dow Jones industrial index pushes new highs and comes off the longest winning streak in 17 years, I paused to think today why our phones continue to ring off the hook with new fraud claims. When the markets and economy collapsed in 2007 & 2008, many Ponzi schemes were exposed. […]
Crowd Funding For Whistleblower Efforts
by Brian Mahany Crowd-funding has yet go main stream yet and many such efforts are scams. One that gets our attention and admiration, however, is being run by Edward Seidel. He hopes to ultimately raise $2 million to fund the investigation of whistleblower claims. Investors would have the opportunity to share in any future awards. […]
Detroit Corruption An Opportunity For Whistleblowers
by Brian Mahany Last week I was in Detroit for business. As I drove by the U.S. courthouse, I remarked at the half dozen news vans parked outside the building. The taxi driver reminded me of the on-going criminal corruption trial of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Detroit residents know all about corruption. Unfortunately, Detroit […]
For Profit Colleges – Next Big Opportunity For Whistleblowers (False Claims Act)
by Brian Mahany The feature article in this month’s Milwaukee magazine was intriguing. There are up to 40 for profit colleges (sometimes called proprietary schools) in the Milwaukee area and many of them have abysmal track records. High costs and little prospect of a paying job at the end of 2 or 4 years of […]