New Mexico Business Weekly Date: Friday, April 20, 2012, 9:35am MDT – Last Modified: Friday, April 20, 2012, 9:36am MDT New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against Sprint Nextel Corp., alleging that the wireless carrier deliberately under-collected and underpaid more than $100 million in New York state and local sales taxes. The allegations, which started with a whistleblower, deal with taxes collected from consumers on flat-rate access charges for wireless calling plans. The suit, brought under the New York False Claims Act, would require Sprint (NYSE: S) to pay three times its underpayment plus penalties —  [ Read More ]

The SEC recently charged executives James T. Miceli and Douglas A. McClain and their California based investment firm, Argyll Investments, for participating in an $8 million stock lending scheme. They convinced at least nine corporate officers, since 2009, to transfer ownership of millions of shares of publically traded stock to Argyll at a discounted rate, and separately, sell the stock at full price as collateral for the loans if they defaulted. In turn, Mr. Miceli and Mr. McClain sold the shares for full market value to fund the loans and used the proceeds for their own personal benefit. If you  [ Read More ]

A former U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist has come forward with a startling tale of how a substance known as “pink slime” has been embedded in about 70 percent of ground beef sold in the U.S. – a topic ABC News investigated for a segment Wednesday night. ‘Pink slime’ panic grows online: Are we overreacting? By Jane Weaver, Deputy health editor | Vitals on MSNBC.com Updated March 9: An online petition urging the government to stop the use of “pink slime” — the scrape and waste meat products that are treated with ammonium-hydroxide — in school food has collected almost  [ Read More ]

Frequently, one of the biggest deterrents for potential whistleblowers is the fear of employer retaliation. Realizing this concern, Congress amended the False Claims Act in 1986 to include provisions protecting employee-whistleblowers from retaliation. Congress further strengthened those provisions in 2009 by extending protection to contractors and agents who might not have a formal employment contract, and again in 2010 by extending protection to whistleblowers’ friends and family: Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or  [ Read More ]

By: The Wall Street Journal | Management By JOE PALAZZOLO And EMILY GLAZER Federal prosecutors investigating whether U.S. executives at Avon Products Inc. broke foreign-bribery laws have presented evidence in the probe to a grand jury, people familiar with the matter said. Authorities are focused on a 2005 internal audit report by the company that concluded Avon employees in China may have been bribing officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to three people familiar with the matter. Avon had earlier said it first learned of bribery allegations in 2008. The audit found several hundred thousand dollars  [ Read More ]

If you have information regarding a securities fraud violation, you can contact our law firm in complete confidentiality and receive a reward for the information that you provide….Click Here to visit Mashel Law Firms main website. By William Spain CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged medical device company Smith & Nephew under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for bribing Greek public doctors over more than a decade. Smith & Nephew SNN -0.90% will pay more than $22 million as part of a deal with the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint alleges that  [ Read More ]

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged four former veteran investment bankers and traders at Credit Suisse Group for engaging in a complex scheme to fraudulently overstate the prices of $3 billion in subprime bonds during the height of the subprime credit crisis. The SEC alleges that Credit Suisse’s former global head of structured credit trading Kareem Serageldin and former head of hedge trading David Higgs along with two mortgage bond traders deliberately ignored specific market information showing a sharp decline in the price of subprime bonds under the control of their group. They instead priced them in a way  [ Read More ]

A whistleblower case against Boeing for fraudulent maintenance on Chinook helicopters, a military helicopter, was settled by the payment by Boeing for $4.392M. This type of corporate fraud, had it been publicly known, would have adversely effected the price of Boeing’s shares. The settlement discussed in this link did not address share holder damages for the inflated stock price inherent in Boeing’s fraudulent conduct. The case merely recovered Government funds for the fraudulent maintenance services the Government was unjustifiably charged for. To report corporate securities fraud of this type, or any other please contact our office today for a secure  [ Read More ]

by Hannah Johnson on January 11, 2012 ( The Whistleblogger / 2010 ) Ammoniated Beef Whistleblower Vindicated by Fast-Food Industry’s Move Summary: The recent move by fast food giants McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell to drop a controversial ammoniated beef product – supplied by Beef Products Inc. (BPI) and known as ‘pink slime’ in the industry – vindicates former BPI employee Kit Foshee, the whistleblower who reported the company’s practices. Foshee, a GAP client since 2007, is a former Corporate Quality Assurance Manager at BPI, the nation’s leading producer of “lean boneless beef.” He says he was terminated for refusing to  [ Read More ]

Government Fraud Costs Taxpayers Billions of Dollars Each Year. You Can Fight Back! “WHISTLEBLOWERS” HAVE BEEN AWARDED OVER $2.2 BILLION DOLLARS Fraud against the government is a crime that affects every citizen of our country. Those who do it and those who see it, but do not report government fraud, are responsible for billions of wasted dollars, higher costs for goods and services and substantial increases in your taxes. If you have proof of any government fraud including healthcare fraud, Medicare fraud, Medicaid fraud, defense contract fraud, pharmaceutical fraud, construction fraud, medical device manufacturer fraud, education/grant fraud, federal tax fraud  [ Read More ]

Pharmaceutical Fraud & Healthcare Whistleblowers Attention Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Employees: Billions recovered from Healthcare Fraud in 2010 & Hundreds of Millions to Whistleblowers. If you work for a Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturer or in the Healthcare industry, you have likely been witness to fraud against the government. It can be a simple as off-label drug marketing, kickbacks and incentives paid to doctors, or charges for drugs, goods or procedures that aren’t necessary or weren’t provided. Healthcare and Pharma fraud have been on the rise over the past 5 years and these companies show no sign of changing their practices. You can  [ Read More ]

by LINDSAY PEYTON , CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT | August 16, 2011 4:10 pm After 30 years of climbing the corporate ladder, Gordon Massie said he risked it all to do the right thing. He said he decided to expose the corruption and accounting fraud he discovered while working at American International Group Inc. As a result, he was shunned and ostracized at work and eventually fired. In his recent book, The Whistleblower’s Dilemma: Confronting Fraud at AIG, Massie describes his journey from the top to the bottom and the steps he took to survive the aftermath. The local author launched his  [ Read More ]

The whistleblower’s “ultimate” battle Phil Towle | May 4, 2011 “In tribute to those who sustain our truth under threat of losing their lives for our morality!” Each of us carries our own “whistle…” It’s called “conscience…” Its purpose: to regulate our own morality… Yes, we do know what is right, what is wrong… And, we definitely know the difference… Yet, employing a plethora of worthless excuses, We humans freely compromise our conscience… Sell our integrity, To our basest impulse… Servicing our ego, On the cheap… For whatever’s self serving or expedient, At the cost of justness and fairness… And,  [ Read More ]

Mike Scarcella – All Articles  -  Legal Times – Law.com December 19, 2011 The U.S. Justice Department said today it recorded more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments in fraud cases against the government, pushing the total amount covered since January 2009 to $8.7 billion. The bulk of the $3 billion recovered in fiscal year 2011 flowed from the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to file suits on behalf of the federal government. DOJ officials said $2.4 billion of the money recovered was rooted in fraud committed against federal health care programs, including  [ Read More ]

APP.com About the Series The largest health care firm in the world has seen record profits – and global allegations of fraud, bribery and deception. How did the most admired company in America get in trouble? Our four-day series examines the secret world of J&J. Click here to read the four part series… Johnson & Johnson, the gold standard for American corporations, has been admired for its devotion to a simple business philosophy: Put your customers first, no matter the cost, and profits will follow. That idea, found everywhere from giant tablets in the lobby of J&J’s New Brunswick headquarters  [ Read More ]