False Claims Act Update & Alert
	Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG           May 25, 2011
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		Subscribe to this FREE Newsletter Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz n TAF Home Page n Previous Newsletters n Email editor   Please take a moment to forward this FREE electronic newsletter to others that might be interested!	SEC Adopts Whistleblower Rules Whistleblowers with knowledge of fraud won't have to report to their  company first in order to be eligible for an award under the Securities and Exchange Commission's final rules. In her remarks at the meeting, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, argued that: "incentivizing — rather than requiring — internal reporting is more likely to encourage a strong internal compliance culture." >> To read more
			California to use FCA in Mortgage Cases California Attorney General Kamala Harris has assembled a staff of 25 attorneys and investigators to go after mortgage fraud using the California False Claims Act. Look for California's Attorney General to have a particular interest in pension and municipal investment in mortgage-backed securities. >> To read more
			CA and IL Join For-profit School Case California and Illinois have filed notices to intervene in a whistleblower case against Education Management Corp., a for-profit education company that operates campuses under the Argosy University and Art Institute brands. EMC received $2.2 billion in federal financial aid in FY 2010 -- almost 90 percent of the company's net revenue. >> To read more
			Court Says FOIA Is Public Disclosure In Schindler Elevator v. US ex. rel Kirk, the Supreme Court has ruled that a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is a public disclosure. Will this ruling be a fatal blow to a large number of False Claims Act cases?  Probably not. Whistleblowers and experienced FCA lawyers have been avoiding FOIA requests for some time in order to avoid legal entanglement, while most big FCA cases are based on insider evidence and not FOIA requests. Nonetheless, The Washington Post gets it exactly right: "Corporate insiders are often essential in ferreting out fraudulent contracting practices.... Lawmakers should... rewrite the False Claims Act to ensure that public records requests such as Mr. Kirk’s do not undermine the efforts of legitimate whistleblowers."
			New York Attorney General Holds Whistleblower Conference New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is holding a one-day CLE-certified conference on "Fighting Fraud Against the Government in the Empire State," June 8 at NYU law School. >> To read more
			File Under "Ironic" Scott Bloch, the disgraced and convicted former head of the Office of Special Counsel's government whistleblower office in the Bush Administration, has filed a pro se lawsuit against dozens of people and organizations claiming a conspiracy against him. >> To read more
			How to Count Success in Mortgage Fraud Prosecutions? The Federal Government and the States are moving to investigate massive frauds in the mortgage industry. The False Claims Act seems to be the weapon of choice in the battles ahead, with five banks offered $5 billion as their first ante. The states laughed at the low number and suggested another -- $30 billion. But is money alone enough to change banking culture?  Is more needed? >> To read more
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