Medtronic Shelling out the Big Bucks

Medtronic Shelling out the Big Bucks Medical device manufacturer Medtronic has voluntarily disclosed that it paid almost $16 million in royalties and consulting fees in the first quarter of 2010. Of this amount, the vast majority–$14.2 million–went to orthopaedic specialists or surgeons, with $13.9 million of that in the form of royalties for surgical inventions....

Tax Returns with Portfolio, IRS form 1040 and Cash

Why is the IRS Sitting on its Hands?

Why is the IRS Sitting on its Hands? It has been more than three years since UBS whistleblower extraordinaire Bradley Birkenfeld approached the DOJ, IRS, and SEC with information about potential tax evasion by U.S. clients facilitated by UBS AG. Since then, the IRS appears to have been sitting on its haunches and not making...

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A New Flavor: Ambulance Fraud

A New Flavor: Ambulance Fraud There is fraud at all stages of the health care delivery process, and as a settlement in a district court case in the Eastern District of New York emphasizes, even ambulance companies are trying to get a bigger piece of that Federal pie, courtesy of you the taxpayer. The case is: United States ex...

Whistleblower in a Coal Mine

Whistleblower in a Coal Mine Remember the story of the miners who died in the West Virginia coal mine before the story was overshadowed by the latest fossil fuel debacle? Well, a whistleblower has filed a federal whistleblower complaint claiming that Massey fired him in retaliation for pointing out safety violations at mines in West...

Foot Dragging on the Gulf Spill

Foot Dragging on the Gulf Spill It remains to be seen whether the Gulf oil spill will become Obama’s Katrina. A recent New York Times/CBS News poll indicates that at the very least, some people believe that Obama is not doing enough to fix things in the Gulf. The poll found that 59% of respondents do not believe...

Crankin’up the HEAT

Crankin’up the HEAT HEAT is the rather odd acronym for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team. It is the brainchild of Attorney General Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius, and despite the great stretches of the imagination it takes to make it work as an acronym (HCFPEAT doesn’t exactly roll...

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FCA Warming

FCA Warming This is not a good climate in which to be committing fraud against the government. A new article notes that the FCA is on fire, concluding that [u]nprecedented government spending, recent amendments to the FCA, increased fraud enforcement budgets and priorities, skyrocketing FCA recoveries, state legislative and enforcement activities, and the sheer volume of ongoing...

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A Whistleblower SNAFU gets Worse

A Whistleblower SNAFU gets Worse Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq who leaked video of a deadly helicopter attack that killed several people, including a Reuters reporter and a cameraman, has been charged with downloading more than 150,00 highly classified diplomatic cables. In a series of chats with a former outlaw hacker, R. Adrian Lamo,...

Why It’s Worth It To Be a Whistleblower

Why It’s Worth It To Be a Whistleblower Many question the worth of being a whistleblower. “Is it worth the time and effort?” “Will I lose my job?” “What good will it bring me?” Overall, “is it worth it?” Being a whistleblower is a tedious process—cases can take years, to hire lawyers you need to...

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Shouldn’t We All Be Equally Protected?

Shouldn’t We All Be Equally Protected? If Congress is supposed to make laws to protect people, and if all people are created equal, shouldn’t members of Congress and their employees abide by the same laws as others? Shouldn’t Congressional employees be protected by Congressional legislation as well? The logical answer to these questions would be...

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