Ben is an Associate at Kohn, Kohn, & Colapinto, assisting clients with whistleblower reward programs. He graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in May 2022, earning a Juris Doctor with concentrations in International Business Law and International Law and Human Rights. While in law school, Ben was a Senior Editor for the Northeastern University Law Review. He was also a member of the Student Bar Association and the International Law Society. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Suffolk University, majoring in government with a concentration in law and public policy, with minors in history and law.
From the Whistleblower and Qui Tam Blog
New Record for Number of Employees Affected by Rule 21F-17(a) Violations Does Not Lead to Increase in Sanctions Against CBRE
This article originally appeared in the National Law Review. The Securities Exchange Commission appears to be increasing the frequency of their enforcement of Rule 21F-17(a). With the recent enforcement against CBRE, Inc., the SEC has now released two enforcement orders and one finalized judgement in the past month. Rule 21F-17(a) prohibits any person from “tak[ing] any action to impede an individual from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation, including enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality agreement.” Strong enforcement of this rule is vital to the strength of the SEC Whistleblower Program. Contracts that seek to prevent employees from utilizing whistleblower programs or speaking to regulators undermine the effectiveness of the program. While these contracts are moot, most employees do not know this and are not willing to risk violating these illegally restrictive contracts. According to the enforcement Order, CBRE required employees to stipulate that they had “not filed any complaint or charges against ...
A Whistleblower’s Guide to Reporting on Crypto
This piece originally appeared in the National Law Review. The recent downturn in the crypto market, combined with the very public collapse of FTX and investigations into Binance, has led to a heightened interest in how to aggressively report on frauds committed by crypto companies. Whistleblowers have already been equipped to battle international and domestic corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse under the wildly successful Dodd-Frank Act. As cryptocurrency has expanded in influence, laws and regulations are now being written to directly regulate this field. Despite confusion regarding how and where to disclose information, existing laws already provide multiple regulators with jurisdiction over crypto tokens and exchanges. Crypto whistleblowers have information, but need to know who they can turn to. Since crypto is a new technology, regulators are determining exactly how it fits into existing legal frameworks. Crypto tokens and exchanges are alternatively treated as a security by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), a commodity or currency exchange ...
As ESG Investments Continue to Rise, Whistleblowers are Critical to Uncovering Fraud
This article originally appeared in JD Supra. Sustainable investment, known as ESG Investment, which stands for the focuses of Economic, Social and Governance, has skyrocketed in recent years. Sustainable investment increased by $288 billion globally throughout 2020. ESG assets are expected to represent “more than a third of the $140.5 trillion in projected total assets under management” at over $50 trillion by 2025. This type of investment can have a significant influence, as it can serve as an incentive for companies to better manage their impact on climate change and human rights by requiring due diligence in these areas to increase investment. Its impact can travel from publicly traded companies to seemingly unconnected industries and issues through their supply chains There are multiple reasons for the sudden increase in ESG Investment. The first is that ESG Investments have recently outperformed other stocks. These socially conscious investments had limited returns for investors in the past; ...
Why Did Seven Senators Oppose the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021?
This article was originally published in the National Law Review. On October 28, there was a hearing and vote on the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021, which aims to fix oversights, loopholes, and misinterpreted definitions in the False Claims Act.” The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance this act with fifteen (15) yes votes and seven (7) votes of no. An amendment to the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021, proposed by Senator Cotton, which “strips everything in the [False Claims Amendments Act of 2021] except the GAO report,” as said by Senator Grassley, did not pass. The False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 “is about tuning up a very well-oiled machine,” as said by Senator Grassley, so why did seven senators oppose these fixes to the FCA? The Senators who voted against the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 are Senator Lee of Utah, Senator Cruz of Texas, Senator Sasse of Nebraska, Senator Hawley of Missouri, Senator Cotton ...
New Cop on a Bigger Block: The CFTC Steps into Enforcement of Anti-Corruption in Commodities Markets with Vitol Settlement
The Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) tasks the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with regulating the U.S. derivatives markets. A December 3, 2020 order filing and settling charges against Vitol Inc., required it “to pay more than $95 million in civil monetary penalties and disgorgement,” has seemingly expanded that role. The order found that Vitol had engaged in fraud and manipulation of markets through corrupt payments to foreign state-owned entities for confidential information and preferential treatment, as well as engaging in manipulative trading activity. The Unlawful Activity by Vitol The activity in the Vitol case involved payments by Vitol to state-owned entities of Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico for preferential treatment from 2005 to 2015. These payments allowed Vitol “to, among other things, rig or circumvent bidding processes for oil contracts” in these countries, which gave them an unfair advantage over competitors. Additionally in Brazil, “Vitol obtained, in addition to improper preferential ...
The Real Effect of the False Claims Amendment Act of 2021
This article originally appeared in JD Supra. The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently considering amendments to the False Claims Act, a law originally passed during the Civil War that was modernized in 1986. The debate in the Judiciary Committee is being closely watched because since the 1986 amendments the False Claims Act has become the most effective anti-fraud statute protecting taxpayers from fraud in government contracting and procurement. In fiscal year 2020 alone the U.S. government recovered over “$2.2 billion in FCA settlements and judgments — over $1.6 billion of which is attributed to whistleblower-initiated lawsuits.” The amendment pending before the Judiciary Committee, formally known as the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 (S.2428) was proposed by a group of senators led by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to clarify the statute. The primary reform addresses judicial interpretations of the “materiality” requirement contained in the FCA. The issue arose due to ...