Category Archives: Whistleblower News

Recently, Armor Group North America Inc. (AGNA) offered to pay the United States $7.5 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act.  A whistleblower lawsuit alleged that the security company, in 2007 and 2008, submitted false claims for its work guarding the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan while company employees frequented brothels.  Specifically, AGNA guards violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by visiting the brothels.  The whistleblower in the suit, former director of operations with AGNA, will get $1.35 million of the proceeds.

Read more: http://www.mainjustice.com/2011/07/07/security-company-paying-7-5-million-to-resolve-false-claims-suit/

As Congress is currently arguing over the debt ceiling and the federal budget, one issue of focus will be the $500 billion spent each year on Medicare.  Medicare is second to only Social Security in its share of the federal budget.  Former Senator John Breaux wisely argues that Congress needs to focus on reducing the level of fraud in the system as opposed to reducing the benefits for the seniors who have paid into the system their entire lives.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/169945-declare-war-on-medicare-fraud-not-seniors

Bank of America Corporation announced last week, in a landmark settlement, that it has reached an agreement to resolve almost all of the Countrywide-issued first-lien Residential Mortgage-Backed Securitization (RMBS) repurchase exposure.  The settlement with The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) covers 530 RMBS trusts with an original principal balance of $424 billion.  The settlement is just the beginning when considering how many banks were involved with RMBS transactions.

Read more:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-america-announces-agreement-on-legacy-countrywide-mortgage-repurchase-and-servicing-claims-2011-06-29?reflink=MW_news_stmp/

Last week, a critic of the infamous Project Gunrunner program the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been sent a notice of termination in an alleged act of retaliation.  In ATF’s letter notifying the employee of his termination, they cited the unauthorized posting of documents he had posted to that website as the reason for his dismissal.  Regardless of the reason for the termination, such action makes the government seem hypocritical when they plead for whistleblowers to come forward.

Read more:  http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2011/06/whistleblower-retaliation-atf-fires-warning-shot-.html

A Florida doctor was recently convicted for pocketing more than $1 million for writing phony prescriptions for unnecessary HIV treatments.  The 72-year-old doctor will spend 20 years of prison for his role in a massive Medicare fraud conspiracy.  The racket was headed by Metro Med’s owner, Damaris Oliva, who cooperated with authorities and was sentenced to about seven years.  Such Medicare fraud is nothing new in Florida.  Earlier this year, 20 individuals from Florida, were indicted in a $200 million Medicare fraud scheme.  Individuals purportedly gave illegal kickbacks to doctors and submitted false claims for mental health services that were never provided.  The scheme included not just doctors but also the owners of medical facilities and marketers for those facilities.  This is well deserved punishment for individuals who defrauded taxpayers and the government.

Read more:  http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/27/2288250/medicare-fraud-nets-20-year-prison.html?utm_source=MiamiNews&utm_medium=twitter