Category Archives: Graft and Corruption
For Wall Street Fraudsters, Business As Usual
John F. Kennedy once quoted Dante: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” Unfortunately, on Wall Street, maintaining neutrality — or feigned ignorance — is often rewarded, whereas speaking out is punished. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act rights this wrong by incentivizing whistleblowers with […]
Time to Hand-Out Whistles in America’s Schools
It takes two to speak the truth: one to speak, and another to hear. Henry David Thoreau The New York Times recently published a story detailing 14 cases of New York City high school teachers and principals who aided students cheating on tests. The City’s special commissioner investigating the schools substantiated the story. Unfortunately, this […]
Another Texas Whistleblower is Dismissed
The Supreme Court of Texas recently dismissed another whistleblower case with a narrow reading of Texas Whistleblower Act (TWA) requirements. Although the TWA offers significant protections to a tipster reporting malfeasance, a Dallas whistleblower attorney can offer counsel on how to meet the law’s specific requirements. The Facts Yusuf Farran was the Executive Director of […]
Church Whistleblower Regrets not Having Blown Her Whistle Stronger
Jennifer Haselberger calls the Catholic Church her home. Two relatives went into religious life. Haselberger was a canon lawyer for the archdiocese until she could no longer tolerate her warnings of sexual abuse being ignored by church officials. Haselberger says that she began complaining to church leaders about a priest in 2008. Their inaction allowed […]
ATF Special Agent’s Whistleblowing Creates a First Amendment Showdown
What is earnest is not always true; on the contrary, error is often more earnest than truth. Benjamin Disraeli The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) special Agent John Dodson is bringing together strange bedfellows — liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and conservatives in Congress. The ACLU has thrown […]
Was Richard Bowen’s Whistle Stuffed?
Five years have passed since Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy. Richard M. Bowen III, a former Citigroup executive who blew the whistle on their bad business practices, provided 1000 pages of documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and 28 pages of testimony to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC). Nevertheless, Bowen’s voice has not been […]
SEC Whistleblower Program Gets Blowing
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced August 20, 2013 that it awarded more than $25,000 in total to three whistleblowers. The SEC reports that this payment was the first installment in a series that is projected to total $125,000 for each whistleblower. Enforcement action The awards are from the SEC’s enforcement action against CEO […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program Breaks Out with a $14 Million Award
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a $14 million award to a whistleblower whose tip led to an enforcement action. The whistleblower, who remains anonymous, gave original information to the SEC that enabled the agency to complete its investigation and enforce the matter in less than six months from receiving the tip. This is […]
Whistleblowing to the Tune of $6 Million
In early July 2013, Baxano Surgical Inc., formerly known as TranS1 Inc., agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges that it encouraged doctors to overcharge Medicare and other federal health programs and paid kickbacks to doctors. Baxano did not admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The charges Facing three charges, Baxano agreed […]
Retaliation for Whistleblowing to the FBI
With episodes of undercover FBI work, revelation of government bribery and retaliation by county officials, this whistleblowing story is one for Hollywood. Whistleblowing to the FBI Alessandro Salvo and his father operate G.S. Construction, which was awarded a 2011 contract to replace sidewalks along South Hairston Road in DeKalb County. Shortly after beginning work, the […]
