Category Archives: Whistleblower News

Accenture will pay $63.7 million to settle whistleblower allegations that the company engaged in a large-scale kickbacks scheme involving government contracts. The lawsuit, which was brought in 2004 by two whistleblowers, accused Accenture of receiving kickbacks from IT vendors, inflating prices, and rigging bids on federal IT contracts.  The DOJ joined the lawsuit in 2007. Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Division stated, “[a]t a time when we’re looking for ways to reduce our public spending, it is especially important to ensure that government contractors play by the rules and don’t waste precious taxpayer dollars.”

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,239866/printable.html

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has established new whistleblower sections required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The rule changes will take effect on Oct. 24, adding new sections to the Commodity Exchange Act, including a provision which provides a bounty to whistleblowers who recover money for the Government.

Read more at: http://www.ect.coop/industry/business-finance/cftc-finalizes-whistleblower-rule/33742

This past GOP debate highlighted the overwhelming problem of Medicare fraud. The candidates all agreed to maintain the Medicare prescription drug benefit enacted during George W. Bush’s tenure, but added the caveat that government waste and fraud must end. The discussion started when a woman in the audience wanted to know more about the candidates’ plans to balance the budget.

Read more at: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-debate-medicare-20110912,0,5723574.story?track=rss

The DOJ reports that the Arizona-based contractor, TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp., will  pay $10 million to resolve allegations of  filing false claims to the U.S. military’s Tricare medical benefit plan from 2004 to 2010.  The suit was brought by four former TriWest employees under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The relators will be rewarded $1.7 million in their share of the government’s recovery.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/Story/story/print?guid=7DB7F408-8A98-4ACE-BF7D-5D6F4845235F

According to a DOJ news release, the U.S. has partially intervened in a false claims lawsuit against Florida-based Halifax Hospital Medical Center. The allegations state that Halifax violated the Stark Law, which “prohibits a hospital from billing Medicare for services referred by physicians that have an improper financial relationship with the hospital.”

Read more at: http://www.beckersasc.com/stark-act-and-fraud-abuse-issues/us-intervenes-in-suit-against-floridas-halifax-hospital-alleges-stark-law-violations.html