DOJ: Covenant Healthcare paid $69M in 2021 false claims settlement
Michigan-based Covenant Healthcare System paid $69 million to settle whistleblower allegations it engaged in illegal referral and kickback schemes.
NAVEX: Record whistleblower report totals suggest ‘more cautious workforce’
More whistleblowers than ever before filed reports with their employers in 2022, with more than half doing so anonymously, according to the latest hotline benchmark report from NAVEX.
Labcorp to pay $2.1M in third party overbilling case
Laboratory Corporation of America agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle Department of Justice allegations the company overbilled the Department of Defense for genetic tests performed by a third party.
Bipartisan bill strengthening SEC whistleblower program reintroduced
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) revived a whistleblower protection bill aimed at shielding whistleblowers from retaliation and cutting down on the time it takes to receive an award from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DOJ intervenes in suit alleging Rite Aid helped fuel opioid crisis
The Department of Justice announced its intervention in a lawsuit alleging retail pharmacy chain Rite Aid filled hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for medically unnecessary oxycodone and other opioids in violation of multiple federal laws.
Ten things I’m excited for at CW National 2023
Ten weeks before Compliance Week National 2023 kicks off May 15 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C, CW Editor in Chief Kyle Brasseur shares what he’s looking forward to most at the annual event.
Corporate conformity and ‘blame culture’
Conformity can be a powerful force for good, but the same urge to conform can also lead to a toxic culture with an unhealthy atmosphere for employees and customers alike.
Cornerstone Healthcare Group to pay $21.6M over false claims
Cornerstone Healthcare Group will pay more than $21.6 million to settle allegations it filed false claims to Medicare by inflating the cost of services, billing for unauthorized services, and other violations initially brought forward by a whistleblower.
False Claims Act settlements net lower return in FY2022
Penalties assessed for violations of the False Claims Act topped $2.2 billion during fiscal year 2022, less than half the mark the Department of Justice reached the previous year.
Activision Blizzard fined $35M by SEC over workplace harassment disclosures
Activision Blizzard will pay $35 million to resolve Securities and Exchange Commission charges it violated federal securities laws by failing to adequately disclose how its ineffective response to workplace complaints was harming its ability to hire and retain skilled employees.
JBS accused of greenwashing in SEC whistleblower complaint
Brazilian meat processing company JBS faces accusations of issuing $3.2 billion worth of “misleading and fraudulent” sustainability bonds in a whistleblower complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
J&J unit to pay $9.75M to settle kickback suit
A Johnson & Johnson medical device subsidiary admitted to providing thousands of dollars in equipment as kickbacks to an orthopedic surgeon as part of a $9.75 million settlement reached with the Department of Justice.
BioTelemetry to pay $44.8M over India testing false claims
BioTelemetry and CardioNet agreed to pay more than $44.8 million to settle allegations they violated U.S. federal health laws by improperly billing Medicare and other federal programs for heart monitoring and cardiac test analyses performed by a company in India.
Avaya discloses ICFR weaknesses linked to whistleblower logs
Avaya Holdings disclosed its assessment of internal control over financial reporting in its fiscal year 2021 annual report can’t be relied upon, along with acknowledging weaknesses in its ethics and compliance program.
SEC adds whistleblower retaliation charges against ex-NS8 CEO
Adam Rogas, the former CEO of cyber-fraud prevention company NS8 who was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud, now faces charges of impeding and retaliating against a whistleblower following an amended complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DOJ seeking Rennova Health return pandemic relief funds
The Department of Justice requested Rennova Health repay Covid-19 relief funds it received in 2020 as part of a whistleblower lawsuit against the healthcare services provider alleging ineligible use of the money.
Ex-BP trader’s failed whistleblower claim to raise U.K. reporting bar?
A U.K. employment tribunal’s ruling that a former BP employee was not entitled to whistleblower protection has shone a spotlight on the legal issues workers must consider ahead of speaking up.
Big penalties, admissions fuel record SEC enforcement year
The Securities and Exchange Commission collected more than $6.4 billion in enforcement penalties, fees, and interest in fiscal year 2022—the largest amount in the agency’s history and a massive increase over a transition year in 2021.
1MDB whistleblower talks of ‘paying the price’ for doing the right thing
The experience of Xavier Andre Justo—the former Swiss banker turned whistleblower in the 1MDB scandal—shows those who speak up about bribery and corruption are often the only victims of the supposed “victimless crimes” they report.
ModMed settles FCA, kickback allegations with DOJ for $45M
Modernizing Medicine paid $45 million to settle false claims allegations levied by the Department of Justice it received kickbacks and made improper payments to providers to increase its business.
Former JPMorgan compliance exec settles with bank over SOX whistleblower suit
Shaquala Williams, a compliance executive who sued JPMorgan Chase after she said she was fired for blowing the whistle on deficiencies in the bank’s anti-money laundering compliance program, agreed to settle her case.
Pharma, whistleblower lessons learned from $900M Biogen settlement
Experts discuss the ramifications of Biogen’s $900 million settlement for False Claims Act violations, including the $266.4 million whistleblower bounty in the case believed to be the largest single award under any government program.
ExxonMobil to pay reinstated employees $800K in OSHA whistleblower ruling
Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil must reinstate two previously fired employees and pay them more than $800,000 in back wages, interest, and compensatory damages after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the terminations to be illegal.
Q&A: Hellmann compliance head on choosing a whistleblower tool
Dominik Waszczynski, head of global compliance at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, shares with Compliance Week the decision-making process that led to the company’s selection of a new and improved whistleblower hotline tool.
Biogen finalizes $900M settlement in false claims whistleblower suit
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Calif. health system, healthcare providers to pay $70.7M over false claims
Gold Coast Health Plan and three California county healthcare service providers will pay a total of $70.7 million to settle allegations they violated the False Claims Act regarding California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal.
DOJ-informed compliance guidance helps Home Depot prep for potential scrutiny
How can a company prove its compliance bona fides to a regulator, should one ever come knocking on its door? The Home Depot has prepared for such a scenario with detailed guidance pegged to the DOJ’s “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.”
Judge: Ex-JPMorgan compliance exec’s retaliation claims credible for trial
A jury could conclude allegations made by a former JPMorgan Chase compliance executive who said she was fired for blowing the whistle have merit, a federal judge ruled.
Court: RBS whistleblower should not receive award
A federal appeals court has denied the whistleblower claims of a former Royal Bank of Scotland employee seeking compensation for a tip he said generated more than $10 billion worth of settlements.
Biogen discloses $900M agreement in whistleblower kickback suit
Massachusetts-based biotechnology firm Biogen reached a $900 million agreement in principle to resolve a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by a whistleblower alleging the payment of unlawful kickbacks to physicians.
Aerojet Rocketdyne to pay $9M in cybersecurity whistleblower case
Aerojet Rocketdyne has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations raised by a whistleblower that the aerospace and defense manufacturer misled the federal government regarding its compliance with cybersecurity requirements in certain contracts.
Historic EY fine latest by-product of KPMG cheating scandal
It is impossible to ignore the SEC’s $100 million fine against EY for employee exam cheating is double the amount the regulator penalized KPMG for its separate cheating scandal. Especially since the latter resolution appears to have served as a starting point for the SEC’s ruling on the former.
EY fined record $100M for employee cheating scandal
Ernst & Young will pay $100 million after admitting to SEC charges addressing systematic cheating among its accounting professionals on CPA license exams over four years. The fine is the largest the agency has ever imposed against an audit firm.
SEC spring rulemaking agenda signals potentially hectic fall for compliance
Final action by the Securities and Exchange Commission on its climate-related disclosure rule, whistleblower amendments, unimplemented elements of Dodd-Frank, and more could all take place by the end of the year, according to the agency’s spring agenda.
Brinks fined $400K over restrictive whistleblower language in contracts
The Brink’s Company, a provider of security-related services, has agreed to pay $400,000 and add wording in U.S. confidentiality agreements to comply with an SEC rule regarding corporate whistleblowers.
USAA whistleblowers want to be heard—and now
Jaclyn Jaeger reflects on feedback received from former and current USAA employees following her three-part series detailing alleged violations of law and mismanaged compliance culture at the financial services giant.
Real talk: How Best Buy manages challenges of DEI goals
Two years into its diversity, equity, and inclusion action plan, Best Buy leaders attended Compliance Week’s National Conference to discuss—in a refreshingly blunt manner—the retailer’s learnings.
Ten highlights from Compliance Week 2022
Editor In Chief Kyle Brasseur recaps the moments that stood out to him most from Compliance Week’s first in-person event since 2019.
Carreyrou lauds whistleblowers’ roles in helping expose Theranos fraud
John Carreyrou, whose reporting exposed blood-testing company Theranos as a fraud, discussed the vital role lab director Adam Rosendorff and his other colleagues that came forward played as sources during a fireside chat at Compliance Week’s National Conference.
Whistleblower to OCC: USAA had 400,000 undisclosed Military Lending Act violations
USAA Bank engaged in an estimated 400,000 violations of the Military Lending Act, a former director of compliance within the bank reported to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in documents seen by Compliance Week.
A look inside USAA’s ‘catastrophically mismanaged’ compliance culture
In exclusive interviews with Compliance Week, former USAA insiders describe a risk and compliance culture in which numerous individuals either were given the axe or quit because the problems were so endemic.