GLAXOSMITHKLINE'S $3 BILLION WHISTLEBLOWER PAYMENT BIG PENALTY FOR NO CORPORATE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION-HOLLYWOOD TAKE NOTE

In a true story se steeped in corporate greed that Hollywood is bound to take notice for its next major graft film, the key whistleblowers today revealed that they fought to get the company to handle the matter internally, only to become the target of brutal retaliation. The two key whistleblowers behind the GlaxoSmithKline investigation, which culminated today in a $3 Bill payment, for Glaxo’s off label marketing fraud, was only revealed in a lawsuit after the wrongdoing was fully reported inside the company. The company’s gross failure to conduct an internal investigation will certainly be studied at business schools as a massive ethical failure. Instead of responding to whistleblowers’ complaints, the company retaliated against them. Then and only then did the whistleblowers decide to be the first to file an off-label marketing qui tam whistleblower complaint against Glaxo. The company behaviors got even worse to the extent that Hollywood will likely be interested in the story. When the whistleblowers’ complaints were still under seal and being investigated by Uncle Sam, Glaxo allegedly falsified and concealed documents in connection with an FDA inquiry about whether Glaxo marketed the antidepressant drug Wellbutrin off label for weight loss. This led to the incidectment of a Glaxo associate corporate counsel, which was since dismissed. The two whistleblowers Greg Thorpe and Blair Hamrick fought the case for ten years. The brought their case under The Federal False Claims Act (FCA) which allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to help the government recover moneys and additional penalties. If successful, a whistleblower is entitled to receive a percentage of the recoveries, typically between 15-25%. Jeffrey Newman represents whistleblowers.