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SEC’s 2016 Whistleblower Program Awards over $57 million - Tips Up 40% Dec 6, 2016
On November 15, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its Annual Report on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program for the 2016 Fiscal Year (“FY”), which ended September 30, 2016. The report showed that since the beginning of the whistleblower program in August 2011, the SEC has awarded more…
SEC Levies Stiff Fines For Illegal Employee Severance Agreements Which Waive Employee Rights to File and Collect on Whistleblower Claims Aug 18, 2016
August 18, 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) continues to fine companies that seek to restrict employee whistleblowers from reporting or collecting any financial rewards for filing a whistleblower charge or complaint with the SEC or any other federal agency. Health Net Inc. was fined $340,000 on August 16,…
STRONG WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ADDED TO FEDERAL TRADE SECRET ACT May 11, 2016
On April 27, 2016, the United States House of Representatives voted 410-2 in favor of passing the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) after the bill was unanimously passed by the Senate in April 2016. The White House strongly supports the passage of DTSA and President Obama on Wednesday,…
DOJ Criminal Division Announces Launch of FCPA Enforcement Pilot Program Apr 18, 2016
The Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division announced on April 5, 2016 that it is launching a one-year Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement pilot program (“Program”). This new initiative is designed to motivate companies to voluntarily self-disclose FCPA wrongdoing, fully cooperate with the Fraud…
CFTC Announces Largest Whistleblower Award To Date of More Than $10 Million Apr 12, 2016
A whistleblower who provided crucial original information that led to a successful U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) enforcement action received an award of more than $10 million on April 4, 2016, the largest award to date made by the CFTC's Whistleblower Program and the third award to a whistleblower…
New York Proposes AML Certification by Chief Compliance Officers Creating Potential Personal Criminal Liability Mar 28, 2016
The New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYSDFS”) has proposed a new rule in their anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulation that would subject chief compliance officers of New York financial firms to potential personal criminal liability. NYDFS over the last four years has conducted investigations into financial institution compliance…
Multi-State Cancer Care Provider Settles False Claims Act Allegations for $34.7 Million Mar 14, 2016
Cancer care provider, 21st Century Oncology Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, South Florida Radiation Oncology LLC (“21st Century”), have reached a $34.7 million settlement with the U.S. Government regarding allegations that they performed and billed for procedures that were not medically necessary. 21st Century is the nation’s largest physician led…
Two Former Rabobank Traders Convicted and Sentenced to Prison in U.S. Over Libor Rigging Mar 14, 2016
Two former traders at Rabobank Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A., a Netherlands based bank (“Rabobank”), were sentenced to prison on March 10, 2016 by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York, for the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rates (“LIBOR”) for the U.S. Dollar…
IRS Pays Whistleblowers $103 Million in FY2015: Whistleblower Retaliation Protection May Become Law in 2016 Feb 22, 2016
The IRS released its 2015 annual report for its Whistleblower Program on February 10, 2016 which disclosed that in 2015, 99 awards were made to whistleblowers totaling $103,486,677. This amount almost doubles the $52 million in awards made to whistleblowers in 2014. The annual report data indicates that this huge…
Dutch Company to Pay $795 Million to Resolve FCPA Bribery Probe in Uzbekistan Feb 19, 2016
Telecommunications giant, Amsterdam-based VimpelCom Limited and its wholly owned Uzbek subsidiary, Unitel LLC, agreed on Thursday, February 18, 2016, to pay $795 million in criminal fines, disgorgement and pre-judgment interest to U.S and Dutch enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for…