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Posts Tagged ‘corporate fraud’

Payment of First SEC Whistleblower Award Imminent

Friday, June 8th, 2012

Ever since it was born out of the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in 2010, all eyes have been on the success or failure of the SEC’s Whistleblower Program. Since the program officially went into effect in August 2011, the SEC reports that they have been continually receiving high quality tips at an impressive pace of roughly seven per day. As a result, the fact that, according to insiders, the first payment of an award appears to be imminent, there is a veritable spotlight on the Commission and the award determination process.

In responding to the rumors of a pending award, Sean McKessey, Chief of the SEC Whistleblower Office, has continued to express his enthusiasm for the program and the importance of actually making that first payment. In an article published on Huffington Post, McKessey stated “I view [the program] as already having been a very significant success, but I understand that people want to see the deliverable. And the deliverable, in our view, is paying people for good information…[t]he more the better, obviously.” Further,

As we await official confirmation of the first award payment, the SEC is reminding people that the amount of the award to those who come forward remains subjective, and that the sanctions ultimately imposed against a company must exceed $1 million before they are even eligible for an award. Specifically, at a conference earlier this week, Jane Norberg, deputy chief for the SEC’s Whistleblower Office, told attendees that although there is “no hard and fast formula [in making an award determination] at this point…it is in the SEC’s sole discretion as to how much of an award there is – whether it is 10% or 30% or somewhere in between.”

In an era where the importance of corporate accountability is reaching new heights, the first award from the SEC will undoubtedly send a strong signal. “I think it will be an affirmation that this will not just be a paper program, that we’re not just going out and making speeches,” McKessey said.

Source: The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/sec-whistleblower-reward-payout_n_1560044.html?ref=tw

Tags: corporate fraud, reward, SEC, SEC whistleblower award, SEC Whistleblower Program
Posted in corporate fraud, Recent News, SEC Whistleblower Program | Comments Off

SEC Praises Whistleblower Tips

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

The SEC’s new whistleblower award program is already making an impact, as many insiders are coming forward with investigative leads, hoping to cash in on the program.

The SEC whistleblower program allows individuals who present original information that leads an enforcement action resulting in monetary sanctions of over $1 million to collect an award. The award may range from 10-30%, depending on factors such as the significance of the information. Whistleblowers range from current insiders, former employees, and outside observers.

The SEC vets the tips through its market intelligence unit, which is comprised of nearly fifty attorneys. Potentially good leads are then funneled to enforcement attorneys.

SEC officials have recently commented that the quality of the tips received is surprisingly high, and some have resulted in “huge cases.”

According to the Financial Times, some insiders are taking on the role of detective. Recently, due to concerns with a deal on which he had worked, a company insider submitted a tip to the SEC. That tip resulted in an internal investigation and an SEC inquiry, which uncovered other problematic deals by the targeted company.

“In the stock market we’ve had good intel simply because of the surveillance by self-regulatory organizations and the firms themselves,” says Thomas Sporkin, head of the SEC’s market intelligence unit. “This program similarly provides a set of eyes and ears on the corporate side,” he said.

To read more about the SEC turning whistleblower tips into cases, see the full Financial Times article at http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/15e5a89c-6a27-11e1-b54f-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/companies_us/feed//product#axzz1pl9KTUK8.

If you have knowledge of Securities Fraud or Corporate Fraud and would like to discuss the possibility of a whistleblower award under the SEC whistleblower program, please contact our whistleblower attorneys today. Kenney & McCafferty will consult with you about your case, without obligation. All communications with Kenney & McCafferty attorneys regarding your case are confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege.

Tags: corporate fraud, SEC, SEC whistleblower, SEC Whistleblower Program, whistleblower award
Posted in SEC Whistleblower Program | Comments Off

Attorney General Warns: More Corporate Crime Charges Coming

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

Those individuals involved in corporate fraud may soon find themselves in the crosshairs of the Department of Justice. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the DOJ plans to take action against individuals responsible for corporate fraud, adding that fines against corporations are not a deterrent.

“It can’t simply be that you make billions of dollars and then you pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. That’s not a disincentive,” Holder said. According to the Attorney General, “there have been far too many repeat offenders.”

Recently, the DOJ has been the target of strong criticism over its failure to bring actions against individual employees responsible for corporate fraud. In the past, the DOJ has generally brought cases against corporations.

With this new approach, the DOJ hopes to counter its critics.

“We’re gonna make some news with regard to holding individuals responsible for things we tend to think of as corporate crimes,” Holder said at a meeting of state attorneys general in Washington.

If you have knowledge of Corporate Fraud and would like to discuss the possibility of a whistleblower award under the False Claims Act, please contact our whistleblower attorneys today. Kenney & McCafferty will consult with you about your case, without obligation. All communications with Kenney & McCafferty attorneys regarding your case are confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege.

Tags: corporate fraud, False claims, False Claims Act, whistleblower
Posted in False Claims Act | Comments Off

SEC Whistleblower Program Rules Available

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Look for this link on the SEC's home page.

Since the Commission’s 3-2 vote adopting the final rules yesterday, the SEC has made the document available on its website at ttp://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-116.htm

Kenney & McCafferty is carefully reviewing the document and determing how the new rules can benefit those reporting securities violations. For a free consultation about a potential claim of your own, please call K&M today.

Tags: abuse, corporate fraud, False Claims Act, fraud, government fraud, health care fraud, pharmaceutical fraud, retaliate, retaliation, Tax Fraud, tax whistleblower, waste, whistle blower, whistle blowing, whistleblower, whistleblowing, wrongful termination
Posted in corporate fraud, Corporate Tax Fraud, False Claims Act, government fraud, Money Laundering Tax Fraud, SEC Whistleblower Program, Uncategorized, Whistleblower Protection | Comments Off

SEC Adopts Final Whistleblower Program Rules

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Mary Schapiro presided over the vote approving the SEC whistleblower rules.

In a split vote, the SEC adopted final rules to implement the whistleblower program provisions enacted under Dodd Frank in July 2010. Chairman Mary Schapiro presided over the discussion, with Sean McKessy and Stephen Cohen of the SEC’s staff answering questions by the commissioners on the proposal.

Cohen said that the SEC had strengthened its Office of Market Intelligence to handle the incoming tips and would be adding a special Whistleblower page to a new Tips, Complaints, and Referrals section of the SEC’s webpage. McKessy said that they have not seen a significant increase in the number of tips to the SEC since the passage of Dodd Frank, but staff has seen an improvement in the number of high quality tips received.

Commissioners Walter and Aguilar praised the SEC staff for implementing a “robust public process” leading to the development of today’s rules. Commissioner Paredes dissented and said that he thought the rules did not adequately preserve the role of internal corporate compliance programs and the process for reporting of tips would be a deterrent to whistleblowers. Paredes also said he voted against the proposal because the rules as proposed would create an “undue risk of encouraging low quality submissions.” Paredes said the issue was not the merit of whistleblower programs, but anticipated problems created by this particular set of rules.

Schapiro called for the vote, and the final rules were passed 3 to 2.

US Supreme Court Rules FOIA Responses Trigger Bar Against FCA Claims

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Justice Clarence Thomas Wrote the Schindler Decision

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion holding that Freedom of Information Act request responses constitute “reports,” relators who rely on FOIA request responses can fall prey to the public disclosure bar of the False Claims Act. The Court issued the opinion in Schindler Elevator Corp v. United States ex rel. Kirk on May 16, 2011. Justice Ginsburg filed the dissenting opinion, in which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined.

Relator Daniel Kirk, a military veteran, worked for Schindler Elevator from 1978 to 2003. He resigned in September 2003 saying that the company had forced him out. Kirk filed his False Claims action in 2005. In an amended complaint in 2007, Kirk alleged that Schindler has improperly submitted for payment hundreds of false claims to the government because Schindler had certified it was in compliance with VEVRAA reporting requirements. Kirk alleged the certification of compliance was false.

Relator Kirk sought verification that his allegations were correct by asking his wife to ask for Schindler’s reporting information through a FOIA request. Mrs. Kirk made three requests, and DOL responded with information that showed the reports were not filed for several years in question.

Schindler asked the Court to dismiss the case on the ground that the verification information Mrs. Kirk obtained through the FOIA requests was a “public disclosure.” Under the pre-existing public disclosure rules, whistleblower claims could be dismissed if the relator was found to have “based” the allegations on specified types of publically available information. In Schindler, J. Thomas said that a FOIA response = a report = a public disclosure. He left open the question of whether or not Mr. Kirk based his allegations on those FOIA responses.

False Claims actions can be complicated, and the statute requires a whistleblower to be represented by an attorney. For a free consultation on a potential government fraud claim, please call Kenney & McCafferty, P.C. today.

Tags: abuse, clarence thomas, corporate fraud, corruption, False claims, False Claims Act, FCA, FERA, fraud, fraud reward, government fraud, public disclosure, Qui Tam, reward, supreme court whistleblower, tax whistleblower, whistle blower, whistle blowing, whistleblower appeals, whistleblower reward, whistleblowing, wrongful termination
Posted in corporate fraud, False Claims Act, government fraud, Uncategorized, Whistleblower Protection | Comments Off

K&M Presents Testimony on Whistleblower Program

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

The IRS Building in Washington, D.C.

Linda Stengle of Kenney & McCafferty, P.C. presented testimony before the IRS on May 11, 2011, on its proposed definition of “collected proceeds.” The definition, if approved, would form the basis of calculating whistleblower awards.

The IRS had four people on a panel to hear the comments. They were Tom Kane, Senior Legal Counsel; Stephen Whitlock, Director of the Whistleblower Office; Alexandra Minkovich, Attorney-Advisor; and Kirsten Witter, Chief of the Service’s Ethics and General Government Law Branch. The panel asked questions of a few presenters, including Stengle. Tom Kane stated that NOLs should be considered to be ordinary deductions and were not relevant to an award calculation. Kane also said there should be no 2 year waiting period imposed in cases involving a closing agreement and that further guidance would be issued with regard to whether whistleblowers can obtain a portion of criminal fines.

Stengle pointed out irregularities in the public comment process ordinarily required when the IRS changes a major regulation. Specifically, the IRS issued its Whistleblower Manual in June 2010 without public comment and narrowed the definition of “collected proceeds.” Senator Grassley, the author of the statute mandating IRS whistleblower awards, criticized the Manual and said that several sections worked to deter whistleblowers from reporting large scale tax underpayment. Stengle echoed Grassley’s request that the manual be held in abeyance while substantive sections undergo public comment.

Four other attorneys presented testimony on the topic. Among other comments, Richard Rubin observed that the proposed rule addressed the inclusion of specific categories of recovery into the definition, but no actual definition for “collected proceeds” exists anywhere in the regulations.

All those who presented stated that the proposed definition for collected proceeds needed to be broadened. The panel members gave no indication of when the IRS plans to publish the final version of the definition.

Tags: corporate fraud, government fraud, IRS, IRS reward, IRS whistleblower program, tax evasion, Tax Fraud, tax underpayment, tax whistleblower, whistleblower award, whistleblower reward
Posted in Abusive Tax Shelters, Corporate Tax Fraud, Employment Tax Fraud, Estate Tax Fraud, IRS Whistleblower Office, Money Laundering Tax Fraud, Offshore Accouts Fraud, Tax Fraud, Uncategorized, Whistleblower Protection | Comments Off

Corporate Attorneys and Investigators Represent the Company – Not Whistleblowers

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

Corporate investigators and attorneys will protect the company. It's their job.

A long time corporate investigator recently shared his concern that whistleblowers look to corporate investigators and attorneys for help and protection when they blow the whistle. Nothing could be further from the truth. “There’s nothing I can do,” said the investigator. “I’ve seen it over and over again. They are going to get their heads cut off.”

The investigator said he knew that whistleblowers, no matter the merit of their report, would be skillfully and systematically terminated with a substantial paper trail to support management’s actions.

“They look to me for help,” he said. “I work for the company. I tell them that, but they don’t seem to understand.”

Neither did CEO Ian Norris of Morgan Crucible Company. Morgan Crucible came under government investigation for an international price fixing conspiracy. CEO Norris began a campaign to obstruct a grand jury investigation, and he shared details of his campaign with Morgan Crucible’s attorney. When the government learned of Norris’s obstruction, it charged Norris with corruptly persuading, and attempting and conspiring to corruptly persuade, others with intent to influence their testimony in grand jury proceedings. Morgan Crucible waived its attorney client privilege and granted permission for corporate counsel to testify. Norris fought the testimony, saying the corporate attorney also represented Norris in his individual capacity and was prohibited from testifying.

The Third Circuit disagreed, but found that communications about scope of representation were ambiguous. Ultimately, the court ruled that Morgan Crucible, alone, held the right to waive attorney client privilege, and the attorney testified.

The attorney testified that Norris, in front of counsel, disseminated a false cover story and scripts about the price fixing and encouraged everyone, including counsel, to relay the false information to investigators. The attorney said he did not know the information was false.

Attorneys and investigators should provide employees with explicit explanations about their role in investigating allegations of fraud within a corporation. They often do not, for a variety of reasons. Bottom line – employees need to take steps to protect themselves when they report corporate misconduct internally.

For a free consult about whether you have a potential government fraud claim, call K&M today.

Tags: abuse, attorney general, corporate fraud, corruption, False claims, False Claims Act, FCA, FERA, fraud, fraud reward, government fraud, health care fraud, IRS whistleblower, IRS whistleblower program, medicare fraud, pharmaceutical fraud, Qui Tam, retaliate, retaliation, SEC whistleblower, Tax cheat, tax evasion, Tax Fraud, tax whistleblower, whistle blowing, whistleblower award, whistleblowing, wrongful termination
Posted in Corporate Tax Fraud, Employment Tax Fraud, False Claims Act, Money Laundering Tax Fraud, Offshore Accouts Fraud, retaliation, SEC Whistleblower Program, Tax Fraud, Uncategorized, Whistleblower Protection | Comments Off

SEC Delays Whistleblower Rules

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

SEC wants to "get it right."

The SEC has postponed adoption of rules for its whistleblower program. According to the Dodd-Frank Act, final regulations for the whistleblower program were to be adopted by the SEC no later than April 21, 2011. Earlier this week, the SEC announced on its website that it is planning to adopt new rules some time between May and end of July. SEC spokesperson John Nester did not provide any specifics about the delay, commenting only that the SEC was crafting all the new rules for Dodd-Frank with an emphasis on “getting it right.”

The financial industry needs an effective fast-track incentive program for whistleblowers. The Dodd-Frank program augments the SEC’s 40 year old insider trading reward program that never realized its potential as a decentralized fraud enforcement mechanism. The SEC, under the old insider trading program, only paid out awards to whistleblowers four times. SEC watchers generally discount the insider trading program and are skeptical about the SEC’s interest in working with whistleblowers in general.

The new Dodd-Frank whistleblower program has generated considerable interest among would be whistleblowers and large companies. Frustrated employees and fraud fighters are delighted to have another program that incentivizes whistleblowers; large companies criticize the program because it encourages whistleblowers to report fraud directly to the government, bypassing internal corporate compliance procedures.

Whistleblowers could file SEC claims for rewards under the Dodd-Frank Act as of last July but will be expected to comply with the new rules once the new rules are adopted. Kenney & McCafferty, P.C. is happy to assist you in assessing your potential SEC whistleblower claim. Call K&M for a free consultation today

IRS Goes Viral?

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

One of many IRS YouTube offerings.

Not exactly, but the IRS has introduced its own YouTube channel, along with an array of audio products to help taxpayers take advantage of tax benefits available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. People can visit the site at www.youtube.com/irsvideos. The IRS YouTube channel caters to people of different backgrounds by offering videos in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

One video teaches viewers how to use the IRS Withholding Calculator. The IRS suggests that people who have more than one job or working spouses should especially check their withholding to ensure neither too much nor too little is being withheld. People can use the calculator to help determine if they should make adjustments. Another video of interest discusses the role of an interim appeals office and what taxpayers can expect from that office.

In another attempt to make the tax code more transparent to today’s filers, the IRS has also launched an ITunes podcast site featuring information about ARRA tax credits.

Unfortunately, the IRS tax whistleblower program has not been the subject of a YouTube video, at least not one produced by the IRS. However, interested tax fraud followers can go to YouTube and type in “irs whistleblower.” One of the results listed will be a video of an IRS Whistleblower Conference panel discussion starring K&M’s lead partner Brian Kenney.

Of course, if you would like to learn more about the IRS whistleblower program, there’s no need to look at YouTube at all. Call Kenney & McCafferty at 215-367-4333 for a free consult today.

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