Review of SEC Rule 21F-17 (Impeding Whistleblowers)

Live Webcast Reviewing SEC Rule 21F-17 Brandon Lauria will speak on enforcement of SEC Rule 21F-17 at a Knowledge Group live webcast on March 9, 2017. SEC Rule 21F-17 prohibits confidentiality agreements and other measures which restrict access to the SEC whistleblower program. The one hour webcast at noon (EST) will cover the rule protecting...

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Hackers and Insider Trading Continue to Mix in 2017

Hackers and Insider Trading Remain a Threat to SEC It was more than a year ago that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cracked down on a group of hackers and traders who obtained confidential, non-public information about publicly traded companies by hacking websites for press releases. A recently released report by a cybersecurity...

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Update on Whistleblower Immunity in DTSA of 2016

DTSA and Whistleblower Immunity Last year, we applauded the carve-out for whistleblowers in the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). However, a recent opinion of a U.S. District Court in the First Circuit undermined the protections afforded whistleblowers under the law. Instead of receiving whistleblower immunity from the lawsuit, it became a sword to...

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Congress Considers Co-Conspirator Eligibility for SEC Whistleblower Rewards in 2017

Eligibility for SEC Whistleblower Rewards A memo circulated in early February regarding the Financial Choice Act produced by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) has proposed the elimination of SEC whistleblower rewards for co-conspirators. The SEC whistleblower program established by the Dodd-Frank Act currently prohibits the SEC from taking into account any monetary sanctions...

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Court Rules Definitively on Confidentiality for SEC Whistleblowers in 2017

Decision on Confidentiality for SEC Whistleblowers A U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California has recently ruled on the validity of a SEC whistleblower’s defense to the enforcement of a company’s confidentiality agreement. In the decision, the Court accepts the validity of a public policy defense to a limited whistleblower disclosure of confidential information...

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A Review of Recent Damaging Clean Energy Fraud

Clean Energy Fraud All Around Us We have discussed the potential for whistleblower actions grounded in the protection of the environment and compliance with environmental laws here before. Most depend on the unique circumstances of the case and the fraudulent scheme in order to fit within one of the whistleblower programs. With the Trump Administration...

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Massive Medicare Advantage Fraud Lawsuit Unveiled Against UnitedHealth

Medicare Advantage Fraud Lawsuit The United States has joined a lawsuit brought by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act accusing UnitedHealth Group of bilking Medicare by fraudulently boosting payments through the inflation of plan members’ risk scores under Medicare Advantage. In other words, UnitedHealth told the United States that patients were sicker than they were...

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International Whistleblower Rewards See Boost

We are seeing more movement on the payment of whistleblower rewards internationally. Nigeria and Korea have been paying rewards recently and Australia continues to consider stronger retaliation protections and monetary incentives. This is in addition to the Ontario Securities Commission’s implementation of a program to reward tips about securities fraud last year. Here is a...

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DOE Delays Whistleblower Protection Rule

The Department of Energy recently announced in the Federal Register a 60 day stay of its new regulation permitting civil penalties against contractors and subcontractors that retaliate against an employee reporting fraud, waste or abuse. The DOE cited the Chief of Staff’s January 20, 2017 memorandum, which calls for a 60 day delay in the...

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IRS Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2017

The Internal Revenue Service is just over halfway done releasing its list of tax scams for 2017. The Dirty Dozen list has been an annual feature of the IRS website and garners a significant amount of media attention warning taxpayers to avoid the tax evasion techniques and fraudulent schemes listed. In recent years, the IRS...

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