With hundreds of songs, thousands of concerts, tens of millions of album sales, and an artistic career spanning more than half a century and counting, Bob Dylan’s influence and contributions to the greater good have been boundless. His litany of accolades offers just a taste of his grand accomplishment — [...]
“We’ve given good actors more avenues to help us go after the bad guys . . . . Whistleblowing. We know it works. Whistleblower reports to the government lead to prosecutions and civil enforcement actions. Internal reports help companies address misconduct before it gets out of hand. And support for [...]
As widely reported in the press last week, former OpenAI researcher and whistleblower Suchir Balaji, 26, died by suicide a few weeks ago. The San Francisco police found his body on November 26 after they were called to his apartment prompted by concerns of his wellbeing. Sadly, Balaji adds to [...]
Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: FTC Cracks Down on Hotel Junk Fees Hotel Dive – December 17, 2024 The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced a final Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, or “Junk Fees Rule,” that targets “bait-and-switch pricing” for short-term lodging and live-ticket events. The rule requires [...]
On December 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced New Jersey-based medical device maker Becton Dickinson agreed to pay $175 million to settle charges of (i) misleading investors regarding its Alaris infusion pump, and (ii) overstating its income by ignoring the costs of fixing multiple software flaws with the [...]
In December 2024, Jose Goyos, (38, from West Palm Beach, Florida) was sentenced to 15 years in prison for defrauding Medicare by falsely billing over $67 million for medically unnecessary genetic tests. Goyos and his co-conspirators worked at a telemarketing call center that roped thousands of unsuspecting Medicare beneficiaries and [...]
On December 12, the DOJ announced that California’s Oroville Hospital will pay $10,250,000 to the United States and the State of California to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary inpatient hospital admissions, a kickback and physician self-referral scheme, and the use of [...]
Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Europe Wants UK to Reconsider Proposal to Cap Credit Card Fees Bloomberg – December 12, 2024 (subscription may be required) A top UK regulator is facing pushback from European lawmakers as it continues to weigh new rules to restrict how much British merchants must pay [...]
On December 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the latest clinical trial fraud enforcement success with the conviction of two chief executives for lying to investors about the supposed promise of an investigational drug called leronlimab their companies were promoting to treat HIV and COVID-19. It follows two recent [...]
On December 4, 2024, Jeffrey Doctor (age 52, from Charlotte, North Carolina) and Samuel Baker (age 46, from Laurinburg, North Carolina) were sentenced in connection with a scheme to smuggle cut rag tobacco into Canada from the United States. Cut rag tobacco refers to tobacco plants that are chopped into [...]