Phillips & Cohen LLP

The SEC Whistleblower Office has had a busy month, awarding an impressive $124 million to whistleblowers. Last week, the agency announced two whistleblowers will receive awards of more than a combined $98 million. Read more in P&C's latest blog. https://lnkd.in/gjM-r2KC

Statement of P&C partner Sean McKessy on the SEC awarding more than $98 million to two whistleblowers, “This enforcement action shows the immeasurable resource whistleblowers provide as an added enforcement tool to help the SEC fight financial fraud and return funds to harmed investors.” https://lnkd.in/eSfaWN4Z

The U.S. uses economic sanctions to pressure and change the behavior of countries and people who threaten U.S. foreign policy interests or national security, including terrorism, narcotics, and the promotion of democracy and human rights. Any time economic sanctions are violated, it means that bad actors are sending money through the U.S. financial system to promote illegal and harmful activities. The U.S. government takes these violations very seriously and can impose substantial financial penalties, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. #Whistleblowers can be instrumental in exposing the evasion of sanctions. Learn more. https://lnkd.in/egkA_yE9

We are honored to have twelve Phillips & Cohen attorneys selected for Best Lawyers in America® 2025 edition for their work representing whistleblowers. Read about the attorneys and their accomplishments. https://lnkd.in/ebrt9fwx

This month, the CFTC announced a consent order requiring FTX to pay $12.7 billion in monetary relief to victims of the company’s fraud. Whistleblowers can be instrumental in reporting crypto fraud and receive a reward. Read more in our latest blog post. https://lnkd.in/eBacccaj

“The Part D program depends on insurance companies paying their minimum share of drug costs. ... Humana shirked its responsibility by telling the government that its plan would cover drug costs that Humana did not actually plan to cover. Our complaint detailed how the government and beneficiaries were left with paying tens of millions of dollars more than Congress intended for years, while Humana pocketed the money as ‘savings,’” said Claire Sylvia, a whistleblower attorney and Phillips & Cohen partner. https://lnkd.in/egqTs4zM

Humana, a healthcare insurance company that contracts with Medicare to provide Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans, agreed to pay $90 million to the federal government to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Phillips & Cohen LLP under the False Claims Act. The lawsuit alleges that Humana submitted fraudulent bids to CMS for lucrative Medicare Part D prescription drug contracts from 2011-2017, significantly overcharging the government. This is first case of its kind to resolve allegations of fraud in the Part D contracting process. Read the full story. https://lnkd.in/eZ8ZSi5e

P&C partner Colette Matzzie discusses how #whistleblowers can file qui tam lawsuits to expose wrongdoing involving electronic health record fraud, such as kickbacks or providers who misuse EHR software to prescribe more expensive or unnecessary treatment or medications. Learn more. https://lnkd.in/e_9_HDgg

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program to help the agency ferret out corporate crime. Under the pilot program, whistleblowers can be eligible for a financial reward for providing original and truthful information about corporate wrongdoing that results in a criminal or civil forfeiture greater than $1 million. https://lnkd.in/eg6gA4yE

P&C partner Erika Kelton discusses DOJ's new #whistleblower program. “Whistleblowers take enormous risks stepping forward, particularly in reporting the kind of wrongdoing targeted by DOJ’s new program,” said Erika Kelton, a partner at whistleblower law firm Phillips & Cohen. “By limiting the amount of an award, individuals may choose to stay silent, particularly because the larger recovery may also increase the risks.” https://lnkd.in/eMhcjHJP