Thursday, July 31, 2008

Senate and House Agree on Strengthened Whistleblower Rights Legislation

Senate and House agreement has come together on legislation which will provide whistleblower rights to about twenty million private sector workers connected with manufacturer distribution and retail sales of products from toys and clothes, to hardware and household appliances. There are hopes that these same whistleblower rights will be extended to government workers.

Click here to read the entire article, Congress Guarantees Widespread Whistleblower Rights in CPSC.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Deputy at Top Whistleblower Office Quits, Boss's Actions are the Reason

The second-in-command at the government’s top whistleblower office has quit, citing that his boss put, “political agendas and personal vendettas” ahead of the agency’s mission and independence. The boss, U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch, is now under federal investigation, accused of destroying evidence potentially showing he retaliated against his own staff. Bloch has denied any wrongdoing.

Click here to read the entire article, Special counsel deputy quits over independence.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

U.S. Gov't Recieves $6 Million From Supply Company

The U.S. government will receive $6 million from industrial-supply distributor, W.W. Grainger, in a settlement that accused the company of selling supplies marked higher than allowed by their contracts. The suit was revealed by a former Grainger employee blowing the whistle on the potential illegal practices. The company said they had complied with “all material aspects” of their contract. The settlement was made to avoid further legal fees.

Click here to read more on Grainger settling their overbilling suit.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Millions In Goods Missing From Indian Agency

Millions of dollars in equipment purchased by the Indian Health Service has been lost or stolen, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office. A whistleblower called a government hotline a year ago alleging discrepancies in the agency’s inventory. After an audit of property records, investigators found there were about 5,000 missing or stolen items totaling roughly $15.8 million. The Indian Health Service objected too many of the findings.

Click here to read the entire article, Goods Worth Millions Are Missing from Indian Agency.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Amerigroup Pays in Qui Tam Lawsuit

The Amerigroup Corporation has just achieved a settlement agreement in their civil qui tam litigation relating to some marketing practices of the company’s former Illinois health plan. Under the agreement the company will pay $225 million to the United States and the State of Illinois. The lawsuit accused the Illinois health provider for intentionally not enrolling pregnant women and other high-risk patients in its Medicaid plan. The company continues to deny any wrong-doing.

Click here to read the full articles, Amerigroup near settling Medicaid fraud damages and Amerigroup reaches agreement in principle to settle qui tam litigation.

Printer Friendly Page