Sep 19, 2022 | State Bar of Georgia Investigations
On September 7, 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court denied attorney Andrew Matteson’s petition for a voluntary six-month suspension after admitting he mishandled several client matters. Matteson acknowledged he violated various Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, but...
Sep 19, 2022 | White Collar Crime
On Thursday, September 8, 2022, U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced a former City of Atlanta executive to 14 years in prison and ordered her to pay $2.9 million in restitution. Mitzi Bickers, 56, was the director of Atlanta’s human services department from...
Sep 19, 2022 | federal investigations
Tax return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams, and the government continues in its efforts to eradicate it as such. On September 7, 2022, Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert advised “taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain...
Sep 7, 2022 | False Claims Act
The Eleventh Circuit agreed with a Florida district court’s ruling that an employee needs “at least an objectively reasonable belief” that they engaged in protected conduct to recover for retaliation under the False Claims Act (FCA), and the FCA does not cover general...
Sep 7, 2022 | federal investigations
On September 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the conviction of Mark Schena of California. Mr. Schena was the president of Arrayit Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based medical technology company. According to the press release, Mr. Schena claimed to...