ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Supreme Court’s March 2014 decision in Lawson v. FMR LLC serves as a reminder that the SEC does exercise enforcement jurisdiction over private entities, say San Francisco securities fraud lawyers. In Lawson, the plaintiffs were former employees of private entities that provided investment, advisory, and other services […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Nineteen healthcare-related qui tam (false claims) cases were unsealed at the end of 2014. These cases were from federal district courts in 13 different states. Unsealed filings show that the government affirmatively declined intervention in 10 of those 19 recently unsealed cases. The government intervened in 3 of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The definition of a public disclosure, and how it affects qui tam/false claims cases, was recently further clarified by a Sixth Circuit court decision. The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to bring a civil action in the name of the government, and receive part of the award or […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER California whistleblower lawyers say a new proposed bill could give auto industry employees financial incentive to report product defects or safety violations. A bill proposing to offer financial incentives to auto industry employees who expose safety defects recently won backing from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER A January decision by the Supreme Court, in which the court ruled in favor of whistleblower and former federal air marshal Robert MacLean, has implications for other whistleblower cases, say California whistleblower attorneys. This case could set a major precedent affecting sources. The decision also reinforces whistleblowers’ protection […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Paying taxes on a yearly basis may not be the most celebrated task for most Americans. Many believe that they should not be taxed at all, thus, giving rise to tax fraud. Recently, there have been a number of tax fraud reports in Los Angeles, claiming tax evasion […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Whistleblowers are individuals or groups that report about possible wrongdoings of a particular organization or company. Often times, whistleblowing involves an employee reporting employer misconduct that is illegal, unethical, or against public policy. Approximately 1400 whistleblowers have filed qui tam lawsuits in the last two years, and have […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) first initiated its whistleblower program back in 2010. It gave two key features to persuade whistleblowers to come forth: (1) monetary rewards for vital information and (2) anonymity for protection. Four years later, the Securities and Exchange Commission made good on their […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Two words: employer retaliation. Whistleblowers don’t normally report wrongdoing to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the attention.  In fact, whistleblowers report misconduct because they were retaliated against in some manner such as wrongful termination, leading them to seek outside help.  In […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER On Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at the New York University School of Law, Attorney General Holder proposed an increase in rewards to Wall Street whistleblowers who report financial fraud. His proposal involved providing incentives for witness cooperation in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) to […]