By Jeffrey M. Haber On October 3, 2016, the United States Supreme Court invited the U.S. Solicitor General to express the U.S. Government’s views about the application of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) public disclosure bar. 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4)(A). The request was made in United States ex rel. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality v. U.S. Bank, a qui tam action that the Sixth Circuit held was properly dismissed because of the public disclosure bar. In United States ex rel. Advo

By: Jeffrey M. Haber Today’s newspapers often report stories about the perils of arbitration. In 2015, for example, The New York Times published a series of articles titled, “Beware the Fine Print” – a special report examining how arbitration clauses buried in contracts deprives Americans of their constitutional rights. (Silver-Greenberg & Corkery, In Arbitration, a Privatization of the Justice System, N.Y. Times (Nov. 1, 2015).) According to the California Assembly Committee

By Jeffrey M. Haber What type of fraud is Laurence Balter accused of? Laurence Balter, a former fund adviser and registered investment advisor, stands accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") of "multiple breaches of fiduciary duty." Breaches of fiduciary duty occur when financial advisers prioritize their own interests over those of their clients. The SEC accuses Balter, who was operating through Oracle Investment, located in Washington and Hawaii, of collec

By Jeffrey M. Haber Bryan Reichel, founder of PureChoice — deceptive or duped? Business lawsuits involving accusations of fraud can be complicated and confusing. It is sometimes difficult to decipher who is lying and who is telling the truth. On the one hand, there is a successful CEO, who is alleged to have committed fraud to develop or maintain a lavish lifestyle. While, on the other hand, there is an accuser who stands to gain money and power by overthrowing the existing k

What is behind the lawsuit accusing Hitachi of Stealing Trade Secrets from Purolite? At the end of August, Purolite, an American water treatment company based in Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit against the American branch of Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. According to Purolite, Hitachi violated the stipulations of a business agreement by sharing Purolite's confidential trade secrets concerning the decontamination of water, including water contaminated by radioactive waste. Puro

New York, NY (Law Firm Newswire) October 14, 2016 - The Law Office of Jeffrey M. Haber is pleased to announce that Mr. Haber has once again been named by Super Lawyers magazine to be among the top lawyers in the New York metropolitan area. The Law Office of Jeffrey M. Haber was recognized for his work in securities litigation. As part of his history of professional achievements, he was also recognized as a Super Lawyer in 2008-2010 and 2012-2015. Super Lawyers magazine is an

Practitioners involved in quitam litigation often encounter questions concerning when the statute of limitations begins to run. Under the False Claims Act (“FCA”), the government (or relator) must file a suit not “more than 3 years after the date when facts material to the right of action are known or reasonably should have been known by the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act in the circumstances, but in no event more than 10 years after the date

On September 29, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (“Och-Ziff”), a New York-based alternative investment and hedge fund manager, and OZ Africa Management GP LLC (“OZ Africa”), its wholly-owned subsidiary, agreed to pay more than $400 million to settle charges that they used intermediaries and business partners to bribe officials of various African governments. The SEC

By: Jeffrey Haber. Whether a party has standing to bring a lawsuit is often considered through the constitutional lens of justiciability – that is, whether there is a “case or controversy” between the plaintiff and the defendant “within the meaning of Art. III.” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498 (1975). To have Article III standing, “the plaintiff ‘alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy’ as to warrant invocation of federal-court jurisdiction and to j

On September 29, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) announced that International Gaming Technology (“IGT”), a casino-gaming company, agreed to pay $500,000 to settle charges of retaliating against one of its executives with several years of positive performance reviews because he reported to senior management and the SEC concerns about the accuracy of IGT’s financial statements. According to the SEC’s order, within weeks of raising co

On September 14, 2016, Andrew Ceresney (“Ceresney”), Director, Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”), spoke at the Sixteenth Annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Conference in Washington, D.C. Ceresney covered a lot of ground during his presentation, addressing issues such as the impact of the whistleblower program to the role of whistleblowers and their attorneys in the investigation and claims process. Impact of the Whistleb

What is being done about fraud in the FHA's mortgage insurance program? In September, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Regions Bank ("Regions") agreed to pay $52.4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. The Alabama-based bank knowingly originated mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") that did not meet the underwriting guidelines of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"). What is a

How can I protect my business from conduct risk? The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan recently announced a number of charges against two former executives of American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. ("American Realty"), a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), for their role in a 2014 accounting scandal. Brian Block, the former chief financial officer ("CFO"), is facing six criminal counts for securities fraud, conspiracy and the making of false statements. Lisa McAlister, the REIT

By Jeffrey M. Haber What anticompetitive business actions are considered unfair? Amidst the recent commotion surrounding the wildly elevated prices of certain products sold by Mylan Pharmaceuticals ("Mylan"), New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating whether the drug company has unfairly limited competition. Although Mylan has been accused of profiteering before, this time the product involved is EpiPen®, the emergency injector used for extreme emerge

By Jeffrey M. Haber How has Turing managed to get into even more trouble after last year's bombshell? It is difficult to imagine Martin Shkreli ("Shkreli") being shamed even more than he already has been, nor Turing Pharmaceuticals AG ("Turing") having its reputation further blackened by more bad news. Nonetheless, this is exactly what's happening. After last fall's commotion surrounding pricing discrepancies, Nancy Retzlaff ("Retzlaff"), once looked at as the most likely can

By Jeffrey M. Haber On September 20, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it awarded more than $4 million to a whistleblower who provided original information about a fraud that resulted in the recovery of monetary sanctions. Since 2011, the SEC has awarded more than $111 million to 34 whistleblowers pursuant to the agency’s whistleblower program. The SEC did not identify the whistleblower. By law, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistl

By: Jeffrey M. Haber It is a fact of life that many securities brokers and financial advisors will be the subject of one or more customer complaints during his/her career. To be sure, some of those complaints will be justified. However, many of them will not be. In those latter instances, innocent brokers and financial advisors will have a blemish on his/her record that can be cleared only through an expungement proceeding. Expungement is essentially a three-step procedure. F

By Jeffrey M. Haber, a partner at Freiberger Haber LLP On May 31, 2016, the Appellate Division, First Department, issued MP Cool Investments Ltd. v. Forkosh, 2016 NY Slip Op. 05944, a case involving allegations of fraud in connection with the production and sale of a commercial heating and ventilation system by an Israeli-based company. In the decision, the First Department unanimously affirmed the motion court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s fraud claims because they were not