Biogen finalized a $900 million settlement concerning alleged kickbacks it paid to doctors to induce them to prescribe the company’s drugs and not those of its competitors.
Whistleblowers
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Florida business settles landmark FCA whistleblower case involving PPP loan
A Florida-based investment fund will pay approximately $22,000 as part of a settlement resolving the first False Claims Act whistleblower case involving a Paycheck Protection Program loan in which the United States intervened.
Posted inEthics & Culture
NAVEX survey: Remote work, whistleblower trends to test speak-up cultures
Maintaining a speak-up culture requires increased attention from businesses with many employees still working remote, putting more of an onus on the reporting function, according to the latest NAVEX study.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Former Contech exec imprisoned 18 months for bid-rigging scheme
Brent Brewbaker, a former executive for civil engineering firm Contech Engineered Solutions, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a long-running bid-rigging scheme in North Carolina.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Bayer to pay $40M to settle long-running false claims suits
Bayer agreed to pay $40 million to settle allegations its sales team paid kickbacks to hospitals and doctors for prescribing its drugs and that the pharmaceuticals company downplayed risks regarding certain of its offerings.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Wells Fargo ordered to pay ex-manager $22M in SOX whistleblower case
Wells Fargo must pay more than $22 million to a former senior banking executive who alleged to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration they were retaliated against for blowing the whistle on financial misconduct.
Posted inRegulatory Policy
SEC reverses Clayton-era whistleblower rule changes
The Securities and Exchange Commission amended its rules to provide further incentives to whistleblowers, particularly in cases involving large payouts or multiple federal agencies.
Posted inEthics & Culture
Lawsuit: HSBC Bank exec alleges discrimination, unauthorized WhatsApp use
Monique Thacker, a current HSBC Bank USA executive, claimed in a federal lawsuit she was discriminated and retaliated against for raising regulatory violations involving unauthorized communications by bank employees that were downplayed or ignored by management.
Posted inAnti-Bribery
Essilor agrees to $22M settlement over kickback charges
Essilor, a manufacturer and distributor of optical lenses and equipment, will pay $22 million to settle allegations it paid kickbacks to spur sales in violation of the False Claims Act.
Posted inInternal Controls
Twitter whistleblower says poor cybersecurity invites breaches, manipulation
Peiter Zatko, a former cybersecurity executive at Twitter, has blown the whistle on his observations of systemic data security lapses at the company, undercounting of fake accounts, and how the social media platform could be manipulated by foreign intelligence services.