News

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Below are some recent articles where Connors Law Group (CLG) has been in the news.

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• 2023: CLG Wins Over $13 Million in 2023 for CLG Whistleblowers.

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Over the course of calendar year 2023, CLG was able to successfully obtain over $13 million for multiple CLG whistleblower clients.

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• Aug. 2023: The Wall Street Journal Interviews CLG's Christopher Connors about Recent Improvements to Whistleblower Claim Processing Times.

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On August 14, 2023, as part of the article titled "SEC’s Whistleblower Chief Manages Growing Pains as Program Gains Popularity" (WSJ: Aug. 14, 2023), the Wall Street Journal interviewed CLG's Christopher Connors regarding his insight into the recent decrease in the time it takes for the SEC to process successful whistleblower claims. The Wall Street Journal article can be seen here (click here for a PDF of the WSJ article). 

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• Dec. 2022: CLG Client Wins Record-Breaking $37+ Million Award - Largest SEC Whistleblower Award of 2022 & 7th Largest in History of SEC Reward Program.

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On December 19, 2022, the SEC issued a $37+ million award to one of CLG's clients. The Wall Street Journal published an article on the $37+ million award, which can be seen here (click here for a PDF of the WSJ article). The WSJ states: "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded more than $37 million to an individual for reporting information about a bribery scheme at a large European healthcare company. The sum is the highest award paid out to a single whistleblower so far this calendar year and one of the top 10 largest awards ever paid out by the SEC’s whistleblower program to an individual, according to the SEC. . . 'We have seen a sharp increase in recent years in increased investigative activity by the SEC and DOJ—especially involving whistleblowers—in the healthcare industry,' Christopher Connors of Connors Law Group LLC . . . who represent[s] the whistleblower, said in a statement."

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• 2021: CLG Wins Over $7 Million for Additional CLG Whistleblowers in 2021.

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Over the course of calendar year 2021, CLG was able to successfully obtain over $7 million for multiple CLG whistleblower clients (in addition to the $3.5 million award in Aug. 2021 and the $28+ million award in May 2021).

 

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• Aug. 2021: CLG Client Wins $3.5 Million Award.

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On August 10, 2021, the SEC issued a $3.5+ million award to one of CLG's FCPA whistleblower clients because that client's tip helped the SEC expand its investigation into a new geographic area and hold technology company Juniper Networks accountable for the misconduct of its sales partners. The Wall Street Journal published an article on the $3.5 million award, which can be seen here (click here for a PDF of the WSJ article). The WSJ article states: "​​The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission awarded more than $3.5 million to a whistleblower whose tip helped the regulator expand an existing investigation that led to civil bribery charges against networking and cybersecurity solutions company Juniper Networks Inc. . . . The tipster . . . notified the SEC in late 2012 that Juniper was engaged in a large “channel partner discounting” bribery scheme in Russia, according to the whistleblower’s lawyer[], Christopher Connors of Connors Law Group LLC . . . . The whistleblower received the maximum award of 30%. . . . The whistleblower’s attorneys said there has been a recent trend of U.S. regulators holding technology companies accountable for their sales partners’ misconduct and rewarding whistleblowers who help expose it. 'In our opinion, this sort of sales partner bribery scheme still is pervasive throughout the technology industry in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East,' they said in a statement Tuesday. 'And we expect that other well-known technology giants will be held accountable in the not-so-distant future for the corrupt practices of their local sales partners.'"

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• May 2021: CLG Client Wins $28 Million Award - One of the Largest Awards in the History of the SEC's Whistleblower Program.

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On May 19, 2021, the SEC issued a $28 million award to one of CLG's FCPA whistleblower clients because that client's tip helped the SEC and DOJ launch investigations that led to bribery charges against Panasonic. The Wall Street Journal published an article on the $28 million award, which can be seen here (click here for a PDF of the WSJ article). The WSJ article states: "​The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it awarded more than $28 million to a whistleblower whose tip helped the regulator and the Justice Department launch investigations that led to bribery charges against [Panasonic]. The SEC said the sum is one of the 10 largest awards paid out by its whistleblower program, which was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. . . .The tipster . . . notified the SEC about alleged wrongdoing at the company in countries in Asia and Europe, prompting the regulator to open the investigation, according to the whistleblower’s lawyer[], Christopher Connors of Connors Law Group. . . . The award 'shows the SEC’s continued commitment to rewarding [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] whistleblowers under the program,' . . . Connors . . . said in a statement, noting that this was the third SEC whistleblower award related to FCPA violations [his] clients received in the past few years." Reuters also published an article on the CLG client's $28 million award which can be seen here (click here for a PDF of the Reuters article).

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• Sep. 2020: CLG Client Wins $1.8 Million Award.

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On September 25, 2020, the SEC issued a $1.8 million award to one of CLG's FCPA whistleblower clients because that client anonymously alerted the company (Orthofix) that it was engaging in bribery to win government business. The Wall Street Journal published an article on the $1.8 million award, which can be seen here. Click here for a PDF of the article. The SEC ultimately awarded CLG's client the maximum 30% reward percentage. The article states: "The tipster, a doctor in Brazil, provided information to the SEC about an alleged kickback scheme operated by an Orthofix subsidiary in that country, according to . . . Christopher Connors of Connors Law Group LLC . . . . The SEC initially set the award percentage in the Orthofix case at 15%, according to the lawyers. But the regulator increased the percentage this week to 30% of the $6 million FCPA settlement payment, consistent with the updated rules, [Mr.] Connors . . . said." 

• May 2019: CLG Client Wins $4.5 Million Award.

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On May 24, 2019, the SEC issued a $4.5 million award to one of CLG's Brazilian FCPA whistleblower clients because that client anonymously alerted the company (Biomet) that it was continuing to use corrupt distributors to win government business. The Wall Street Journal published an article on the $4.5 million award, which can be seen here. Bloomberg also published an article on the award stating: "The [CLG client] will get the money for playing a crucial role in helping the Securities and Exchange Commission uncover a bribery scandal at Biomet Inc. that spanned the globe, his attorney[] Christopher Connors . . . said in a Friday statement that didn’t identify the doctor by name. 'Today’s award will spur many would-be foreign whistleblowers to come forward now that they know that the SEC is committed to rewarding whistleblowers' for tips tied to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act anti-bribery law, said Connors . . . ." The Bloomberg article can be seen here. In its press release, the SEC explained: “This is the first time a claimant is being awarded under this provision of the whistleblower rules, which was designed to incentivize internal reporting by whistleblowers who also report to the SEC within 120 days.”

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• May 2019: CLG Client Files Award Claim In Half-Billion Dollar Teva Settlement.

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On May 1, 2019, Global Investigation Review published a detailed article regarding CLG client's role in connection with the U.S. government’s $519 million Teva settlement, which could result in a reward for CLG's client anywhere from $51.9 million to $155.7 million (which represents 10% to 30% of the total fine). The article also notes that Mr. Connors “represented a whistleblower in a foreign bribery probe into German healthcare firm Fresenius, which recently settled FCPA charges [for $231 million].” This will result in a reward anywhere from $23.1 million to $69.3 million for CLG’s Fresenius client. The article describes Mr. Connors' extensive experience representing FCPA and anti-corruption whistleblowers globally as follows: “. . .Connors will be well-known to FCPA defense lawyers and prosecutors alike [seeking] to corner the market of FCPA whistleblowers.” Click here for a PDF of the article and here for the link to it.

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• Feb. 2019: CLG Client Triggers Quarter Billion Dollar Settlement. 

 

See S. Rubenfeld, German Dialysis Firm Reaches Agreement in Bribery Probe (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 25, 2019) (explaining how a CLG client's "anonymous whistleblower complaint" led to a massive settlement over $200 million). Click here for a PDF of the article and here for the link to it.

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• Aug. 2018: CLG Client Awaiting Whistleblower Payout "Anywhere From $3 Million To $14 Million." 

 

See D. Michaels, SEC Whistleblower Payouts Slow Amid Deluge of Reward Seekers (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 5, 2018) (noting delay in the SEC award claims process but explaining that, after such delay, a CLG whistleblower client is set to get a "payout anywhere from $3 million to $14 million"). Click here for a PDF of the article and here for the link to it.

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