News
June 16, 2014
June 16, 2014 — Credit Suisse AG has pleaded guilty to criminal tax charges for its assistance, over a period of decades, to U.S. tax cheats filing false income tax returns with the IRS. The $2.6 billion settlement of the matter makes clear that the IRS has set a high priority on identifying and punishing those involved in international tax evasion.
Insider employees who discover their...
June 13, 2014
June 13, 2014 — Three founders of Lawson Software have been charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Board members and executives often come into possession of nonpublic insider information that could be used to make a personal profit. But tipping or trading on confidential information is a crime. Under the whistleblower program established in the...
June 11, 2014
June 11, 2014 — Marubeni Corporation — a Japanese multinational power generation services provider — has been sentenced for its role in bribing high-ranking Indonesian government officials to obtain a $118 million contract. Misconduct involving foreign bribery violates the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and prevents the establishment of a level playing field for international...
June 9, 2014
June 9, 2014 — A California securities salesman has been charged with selling millions in oil-and-gas securities without registering as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or associating with a registered broker-dealer. Under Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, securities salesmen must register themselves as broker-dealers or be associated with...
June 5, 2014
June 5, 2014 — Our country’s Medicare program exists to provide medical care for the seniors who need it. Medicare fraud by unethical home health agencies only drives up the cost of health care for everyone. The U.S. Justice Department relies on whistleblowers to step forward about Medicare fraud by bringing a False Claims Act lawsuit. The Act’s qui tam provisions give insiders a way to...
June 3, 2014
June 3, 2014 — Pasco, Florida dentist Miranda Smith has been criminally charged with alleged Medicaid fraud in connection with her practice at Smiles and Giggles Dentistry. The fraud allegedly amounted to more than $140,000. Fraudulent Medicaid filings by unscrupulous dental providers injure taxpayers, who bear the cost, and patients, who sometimes receive poor care. Under the False Claims...
May 30, 2014
May 30, 2014 — Swisspartners Investment Network AG, an asset management firm in Switzerland, and three of its wholly-owned subsidiaries have consented to pay $4. 4 million to resolve the United States’ investigation of the Swisspartners’ Group’s possible role in U.S. taxpayers’ tax fraud. From the settlement, $3. 5 million will be forfeited to the United States — the amount that the...
May 29, 2014
May 29, 2014 — The U. S. government has intervened in a qui tam lawsuit filed by two whistleblowers against Stevens-Henager College, Inc. and The Center for Excellence in Higher Education, which owns the college. Stevens-Henager runs a chain of for-profit colleges in Utah and Idaho. The tipsters — former Stevens-Henager employees — allege that the college was involved in education...
May 28, 2014
May 28, 2014 — A group of medical providers in Jacksonville, Florida has settled False Claims Act allegations for $2.5 million. The allegations against Baptist Health System Inc. (Baptist Health) came to light in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Verchetta Wells, a former employee. Under the qui tam provisions of Act, Wells will receive $424,155 from the recovery.
Baptist Health Neurologists...
May 27, 2014
May 27, 2014 — Investors rely on their investment firm advisors to manage their assets in a responsible and ethical manner. To ensure that they do, advisors registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are subject to the “Custody Rule” of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Those who do not comply with the Custody Rule should be reported to the financial fraud whistleblower...
