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Six whistleblowers received substantial awards for their part in exposing fraud committed by the nation’s largest mortgage lenders. In a settlement announced by the Justice Department in April 2012, the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders – Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup, and Ally Financial – agreed […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently announced that Capital One Financial Corp. (“Capital One”) will pay a total of $200 million to settle charges related to deceptive marketing of credit card “add-on” products such as payment protection and credit monitoring. This was the first enforcement action brought by the […]

NextCare Inc. which operates urgent care facilities with locations in North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia, recently agreed to pay $10 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations. The settlement was announced by the Justice Department in early July 2012. The settlement resolved allegations that NextCare submitted false […]

As it approaches its one-year anniversary, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced plans for overhauling the home mortgage market as a first step toward improving its fairness and clarity. The CFPB was created through the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act with a mission of helping ensure clarity and fairness in the […]

Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott”) recently announced that it will pay $1.6 billion to settle various federal and state claims that it improperly marketed the prescription drug Depakote for off-label uses. Abbott will pay $800 million to resolve civil claims brought by the federal government and states, $700 million in criminal penalties, […]

Rex Hospital, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, has agreed to pay the federal government $1.9 million to settle Medicare fraud charges. The qui tam (or “whistleblower”) lawsuit alleged that hospitals were keeping Medicare patients overnight unnecessarily following a back procedure known as “kyphoplasty.” The action alleged hospitals encouraged overnight stays […]

Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) has purportedly reached a settlement with the Justice Department which will have the healthcare giant paying $2.2 billion to resolve unlawful marketing claims. The settlement would include a criminal fine of approximately $400 million for the unlawful promotion of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The final total […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register that would create plain-English, more transparent mortgage disclosures. The proposal follows more than a year of research and analysis of mortgage disclosures and the best ways to ensure that customers receive needed information to make […]

In a time when it gets increasingly difficult for politicians to agree on regulations, reign in the cost of healthcare or control financial institutions, one strong person can make a difference. Under the False Claims Act any person, business or entity that defrauds the federal government of the American taxpayers’ […]

American Banker, the nation’s leading publication dealing with the banking industry, reported on mounting challenges to lenders’ alleged self-dealing with force-placed hazard or homeowner’s insurance. In addition to a number of lawsuits filed against banks and mortgage servicers across the country, regulatory authorities are now investigating whether banks are unfairly […]