Dish Network faces federal whistle-blower lawsuit

A federal whistle-blower lawsuit against Dish Network Corp. and a pair of small business partners alleges the companies and their executives owe the federal government billions of dollars.

The Dish-affiliated companies knocked $3.3 billion off the cost of spectrum they won at auction, allowing Dish and its partners to pay $10 billion for spectrum licenses valued at $13.3 billion. read more »

Oil Services Company Paying $140 Million Penalty for Accounting Fraud

Washington D.C., Sept. 27, 2016 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that oil services company Weatherford International has agreed to pay a $140 million penalty to settle charges that it inflated earnings by using deceptive income tax accounting.  Two of the company’s senior accounting executives at the time have agreed to settle charges that they were behind the scheme. read more »

Total of $940,000 in Disgorgement and a Civil Monetary Penalty for Solicitation Fraud and Failure to Register

For fraudulently soliciting clients and prospective clients to purchase access to an online trading room and failing to register with the CFTC as a Commodity Trading Advisor. read more »

U.S. Labor Dept launches review of all Wells Fargo complaints

U.S. Labor Department Secretary Thomas Perez on Monday pledged to conduct a "top-to-bottom" review of all cases, complaints and other alleged violations that the department has received concerning Wells Fargo in recent years.

Perez's announcement, outlined in a Sept. 26 letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, comes after Warren and other Democrats asked the Labor Department last week to launch a probe into possible wage and working-hour law violations involving Wells Fargo tellers and sales representatives who may have stayed late to meet sales quotas read more »

U.S. senator seeks SEC probe of Yahoo disclosure on hacking

Democratic Senator Mark Warner on Monday asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Yahoo and its senior executives fulfilled obligations to inform investors and the public about a hacking attack affecting 500 million user accounts.

"Disclosure is the foundation of federal securities laws, and public companies are required to disclose material events that shareholders should know about," Warner said in a letter to SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White. read more »

Government Intervenes in Suit Against Energy & Process Corporation Alleging Use of Defective Steel Rebar and Quality Control Failures in Nuclear Waste Treatment Facility

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Energy & Process Corporation (E&P), of Tucker, Georgia, alleging that E&P knowingly failed to perform required quality assurance procedures and supplied defective steel reinforcing bars (rebar) in connection with a contract to construct a Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear waste treatment facility, the Justice Department announced today.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that construction suppliers who are paid a premium to meet high safety standards actually supply the goods and perform the work for which they are paid,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “When contractors cut corners, they not only cheat American taxpayers, but they also can put public safety at risk, particularly when their misconduct affects a facility that houses and processes nuclear materials. read more »

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Sues Garment Wholesaler, Garment Importers, And Executive For Scheme To Avoid Paying Millions In Import Duties On Garments

Defendants Presented Phony Invoices to Misstate the Amount of Import Duties Owed

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Robert E. Perez, Director, Field Operations New York, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent in Charge of New York, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced today that the United States has filed a civil complaint (the “Complaint”) alleging violations of the False Claims Act. read more »

Miami-Dade County Aviation Department Division Director and Four Others Charged in $5,000,000 Fraud and Kickback Scheme

The Miami-Dade County Aviation Department Division Director and four others were charged in a $5,000,000 fraud and kickback scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney for Miami-Dade County, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Ivan Valdes, 46, of Miami, the Division Director for the Aviation Terminal Building Maintenance for the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department, was charged in an Information with theft in programs receiving federal funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code. read more »