The NY Times reports that hundreds of children were poisoned last year from cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches that were traced to the Ecuadorian company Negasmart, which supplies to Austrofood and distributes the product under the name Wanabana. The FDA, working with Ecuadorean investigators, traced the contamination of the Sri Lankan imported cinnamon [...]
This week’s Department of Justice (DOJ) Catch of the Week goes to Endo Health Solutions. Yesterday (February 29), the now-bankrupt pharmaceutical company agreed to pay up to $465 million over 10 years to settle criminal and civil charges relating to its sales and marketing of the opioid drug Opana. Endo [...]
Whistleblower partner Gordon Schnell was published in National Catholic Reporter, Vatican’s new whistleblower procedure is a good start, but needs adjustment. March 1, 2024) Read Vatican’s New Whistleblower Procedure is a Good Start, but Needs Adjustment at constantinecannon.com
Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: GOP Senators Propose Ban on Central Bank Digital Currencies The Hill – February 26, 2024 Republican senators introduced legislation Monday that would ban official cryptocurrencies backed by central banks, a type of proposed digital asset that the Biden administration and Federal Reserve have expressed interest [...]
“Whistleblowers play a vital role in helping Congress conduct its constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities, and their disclosures can make a real difference in determining investigation outcomes.” From the House Financial Services Committee call-out to whistleblowers to help with its investigation into reports of widespread workplace misconduct at the Federal Deposit [...]
DOJ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton recently spoke at the 2024 Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Conference. Here are a few key takeaways from his remarks, which can be found here. Crediting Whistleblowers. Boynton lauded whistleblowers, calling them “a critical source of [DOJ’s] enforcement efforts,” and he thanked [...]
Whistleblower attorney Max Voldman was quoted in a COSMOS article, Compliance Professional’s Allegations of Software Tampering Survive in Kaiser Case. Read February 26, 2024 at constantinecannon.com
On February 21, 2024, a federal grand jury in New Jersey indicted Dr. Alexander Baldonado, of Queens, New York, for his alleged involvement in a complex health care fraud and illegal kickback scheme. According to the DOJ press release, this scheme involved the submission of over $20.7 million in false and [...]
“By protecting whistleblowers who shine a light on wrongdoing, [the False Claims Act] empowers those brave individuals to come forward and continues to deliver for the American people. The value of the False Claims Act cannot be overstated; preserving and strengthening it will always be in our nation’s best interest.” [...]
Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: US Supreme Court Wrestles With Bid to Challenge Debit Card ‘Swipe Fee’ Rule Reuters – February 20, 2024 U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with a North Dakota convenience store’s challenge to a government regulation on debit card “swipe fees” – a case that [...]
