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Last week, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent letters to 16 drugmakers, including Pfizer (New York), AstraZeneca (London), and Eli Lilly (Indianapolis), asking them about their current policies regarding whistleblowers—employees who file complaints under the False Claims Act (FCA). The letters include questions about how the companies inform employees about the FCA, how the companies handle FCA complaints, how the companies ensure that whistleblowers are treated fairly, how claims are resolved, and whether the companies have changed their policies in light of the passage of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA) of 2009.
“In the last three years, pharmaceutical companies have paid out over $3 billion in settlements under the False Claims Act for defrauding federal healthcare programs,” said Grassley in a press release. “There can never be too many taxpayer watchdogs, so I see this letter as an opportunity to foster a mindset that recognizes the value of whistleblowers and the duty these companies have to act honestly when seeking taxpayer dollars.”
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March 29, 2010 | 15:22
QMI Agency
CALGARY — Three Alberta men are charged with fraud for allegedly running a $60-million Ponzi scheme.
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Whistleblower awarded record US$51.5-million
Firm fined US$2.3B; Former salesman was appalled by Pfizer's tactics
Taking on corporate giants can feel like tilting at windmills, but John Kopchinski's six-year legal battle against Pfizer Inc. just made him a rich man. The Gulf War veteran and former Pfizer sales representative will earn more than US$51.5-million as a result of his whistleblower lawsuit against the world's biggest drugmaker and the record penalty the company must pay the U.S. government for its massive marketing transgressions. Mr. Kopchinski, appalled by Pfizer's tactics in selling the pain drug Bextra, filed a "qui tam" lawsuit in 2003, sparking federal and state probes that led to Wednesday's agreement by the company to pay US$2.3-billion in civil and criminal penalties and plead guilty to a felony charge for promoting Bextra and 12 other drugs for unapproved uses and doses.
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AUSTIN – U.S. organizations lose an estimated seven percent of their annual revenues to fraud, according to a survey of Certified Fraud Examiners who investigated cases between January 2006 and February 2008. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) published the results of the survey in its highly-anticipated 2008 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud & Abuse.
Whistleblower Security is helping to promote awareness of the new research, as it indicates that fraud continues to be a serious problem for businesses and organizations worldwide. “We are proud to be in a business that promotes integrity and ethics within the workplace. We believe that our services support business and support employees,” said Shannon Walker, President of Whistleblower.
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