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 [...]
United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Vanessa Roberts Avery, and Connecticut Attorney General, William Tong announced that Home Care VNA LLC and its current and former owners, Shakira Lubega and Constant Ogutt, have agreed to pay $361,520 to resolve allegations that they submitted claims for home health care [...]
They’re the “Minority” and they “don’t need your authority.” But Green Day joins the ranks of countless seminal artists that take a stand, turn a critical lens on the world, and draw audiences in beyond power chords and a punk rock ethos. Green Day’s music is jam-packed with quintessential ideas [...]
“Having an insider who can provide the emails and can provide the evidence just changes the game. But it means that you need to get over the idea that a whistleblower is going to be this kind of moralistic hero that we put on a pedestal. That perception is not [...]