Guaranteed Rate Pays $15 Million to Resolve Allegations It Knowingly Caused False Claims to Government Mortgage Loan Programs

Guaranteed Rate Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $15.06 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) by knowingly violating material program requirements when it originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or  guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department o...
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NASA Contractor Agrees To Pay $375,000 To Settle False Claims Act Liability

Orlando, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces today that United Paradyne Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $375,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to NASA for assembling and cleaning rocket launch systems that it had failed to perform.  The settlement relates to United Paradyne’s agreement to provide NASA with certain ground support equipment designed to support NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS...
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$8.5 Million Recovery from Moody’s

Moody’s has reached a settlement with New York-based law firm Kirby McInerney after it was accused of underpaying New York State and New York City business taxes between 2002 and 2014. Moody’s is alleged to have mischaracterised its income as premiums to its captive, Moody’s Assurance Company (MAC).  Kirby McInerney secured an $8.5 million recovery in the case, after a whistleblower who was formerly employed by Moody’s sounded the alarm in 2018. The settlement is unusual in tha...
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$4.8 Million Paid Violating False Claims Act

Caldwell University Agrees To Pay More Than $4.8 Million To Resolve Allegations Of Violating False Claims Act NEWARK, N.J. – Caldwell University has agreed to pay the United States more than $4.8 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a fraudulent scheme to defraud a federal education benefit program, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. “Caldwell University tried to hoodwink the Department of Veterans Affairs and, worse, veterans themselves, by claiming to offer onlin...
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$950,000 to Settle Medicare Billing Fraud

San Diego Eye Doctors Pay $950,000 to Settle Medicare Billing Fraud Allegations SAN DIEGO – Mark D. Smith and Fane Robinson, two San Diego-area physicians, have paid the United States $948,768.18 to resolve allegations that they violated the federal False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare. Dr. Smith and Dr. Robinson are medical doctors specializing in ophthalmology.  They maintain a medical practice in San Diego known as San Diego Retina Assoc...
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Six Charged by SEC International Fraud Schemes

SEC Charges Six Individuals in International Microcap Fraud Schemes The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged six individuals and their companies with participating in schemes that allegedly generated more than $35 million of illegal sales of stock in at least 45 microcap companies. The charges contained in two complaints reflect investigations by staff in the SEC’s New York and Boston offices, and assistance from multiple regulators outside the U.S. According to one SEC...
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Whistleblowers Win $8.6 million in LAPD Cops Retaliation Suit

Abuse at the hands of police is the ultimate betrayal of the public. Whistleblowers are the key to stopping corruption.
For months, the two Los Angeles Police Department bloodhound handlers saw their supervisor harass their female colleague. Over and over, they saw him try to massage her shoulders, unsolicited, and heard him make suggestive comments about her body. The supervisor often showed up to her calls, something he didn’t do as much with her male counterparts. When they complained on the woman’s behalf, Officers Elliot Zibli and David Dooros suffered backlash so severe that they...
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Whistleblowers Awarded Over $54 Million by SEC

Security and Exchange Commission
SEC Awards More Than $320 Million The Securities and Exchange Commission is awarding $39 million to one whistleblower and $15 million to another whose critical information and continued assistance helped the agency bring an important enforcement action.  The $39 million award is the second-largest award in the history of the SEC’s whistleblower program. “Whistleblowers serve as invaluable sources of information, and can propel an investigation forward by helping us overcome obstacles and...
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JP Morgan Chase Whistleblower Gets Record $30Million

JP Morgan Chase Bank
A J.P. Morgan Chase whistleblower will receive about $30 million for providing crucial information to a successful Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation into the biggest U.S. bank. The award was the largest in the history of the program, the Commodity Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) said Thursday in a statement. It disclosed little else about the case, saying that it is prohibited from revealing information that could identify whistle-blowers. The payment was linke...
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Whistleblower Laws Violated by Gag Orders at Federal Agencies

Agencies can't bar speech without reminding workers of their rights In December, The Washington Post revealed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recommended employees not use certain words, including “diversity” and “entitlement,” when preparing budget documents for Congress. According to a federal watchdog, which verified parts of The Post’s reporting, this was one of several questionable decisions the CDC and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Ser...
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