Jury Finds Global Health Care Company Novo Nordisk Not Liable in Whistleblower’s FCA Suit

Jury Finds Global Health Care Company Novo Nordisk Not Liable in Whistleblower’s FCA Suit

A federal jury in Washington state found Novo Nordisk not liable for violations of the False Claims Act (FCA), Anti-Kickback Statute, Washington False Claims Act, and Washington Fraudulent Practices Act relating to the promotion of its hemophilia drug NovoSeven.

The complaint alleged that Novo Nordisk engaged in a nationwide fraudulent scheme to promote off-label use of NovoSeven and allegedly gave kickbacks to patients and physicians to induce the use of NovoSeven in efforts to boost prescriptions between 2006 and 2015. According to the complaint, these efforts were illegal and cost, for example, Washington state and federal Medicaid funds over $50 million in a five-year span between 2009 and 2013.

Following a 15-day trial, the jury found Novo Nordisk not liable, clearing it of the allegations.

The case is Jamie Siegel et al. v. Novo Nordisk Inc., 23-CV-05429 (W.D. Wa.).

SEC Accuses Founder and Former CEO of Triterras Fintech of $60 Million Fraud

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a suit against Srinivas Koneru, the former CEO of Triterras Fintech Pte. Ltd., alleging that he engaged in a fraudulent scheme to mislead investors about Triterras’s business combination with special purpose acquisition company Netfin Acquisition Corp. in 2020.

According to the complaint, in an effort to influence Netfin’s shareholders to approve the business combination, Koneru made false statements to the shareholders about the nature and scale of Triterras’s commodities trade and trade finance platform and primary asset, Kratos, by touting that it had “onboarded” lending funds with billions of dollars in assets under management. The SEC alleges that, in reality, Triterra only onboarded a small fraction of the reported trade finance activity involved in those funds.

Based on these representations, the SEC claims that Netfin’s shareholders voted to approve the business combination with Triterra. As a result, Koneru allegedly received $60 million in cash consideration, obtained a controlling equity stake in the surviving public company, Triterras, Inc., and became Triterra’s CEO and executive chairman.

The case is SEC v. Koneru, 25-CV-09327 (S.D.N.Y).

MLB Pitcher Pleads Not Guilty in Alleged Prop-Bet Bribery Scheme

On November 12, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pleaded not guilty in the Eastern District of New York to charges stemming from an alleged scheme to manipulate individual pitch outcomes to facilitate successful sports betting “prop” wagers.

According to the indictment, in June 2025, Ortiz joined the scheme with fellow pitcher Emmanuel Clase and agreed with unnamed bettors to deliver specific outcomes on certain pitches — such as throwing a ball instead of a strike or altering pitch velocity — in exchange for kickbacks. The government claims Ortiz accepted $5,000 tied to a prearranged first pitch of the second inning on June 15, 2025, and $7,000 for a pitch on June 27, 2025, while bettors purportedly netted at least $450,000. Clase, who is set to be arraigned separately, allegedly helped arrange the rigging, withdrew $50,000 in cash before the June 27 game, and provided $15,000 to a co-conspirator who placed a wager on Ortiz’s pitch.

At the November 12 arraignment before US Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo, Ortiz entered not guilty pleas to wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery. Ortiz was released on a $500,000 bond; a second suretor is expected.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is US v. Clase de la Cruz et al., 25-CR-00346 (E.D.N.Y.).

The US Department of Justice’s press release announcing the indictment can be found here.

Court Rejects Proposed FCA Settlement in Hunters Point Cleanup Case

A California federal judge declined to approve a proposed $57 million settlement between the United States and Tetra Tech EC Inc. intended to resolve FCA allegations tied to radiological cleanup work at San Francisco’s former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.

In a decision issued on November 7, US District Judge James Donato criticized the government’s submission as lacking a meaningful rationale, stating that it offered only generic justifications and “is not at all obvious that the settlement is fair and reasonable” given the radiation remediation concerns and other serious circumstances. The court emphasized it would not “rubber stamp” the proposal and directed the parties to submit additional briefing by early December addressing both settlement approval and the allocation of relators’ shares.

The court also flagged significant uncertainty around the distribution of proceeds among the seven whistleblowers. According to the court’s decision, the relators collectively seek 23% of the FCA recovery, while the government proposes that four relators receive 20% of approximately $51.9 million related to soil sampling fraud, with three others excluded from that portion under the first-to-file rule. The government further contends that only one relator should receive a 20% share of roughly $5.1 million tied to alleged building scan fraud. The court also denied the relators’ request to secure a share of funds from a separate $40 million Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) settlement, finding that CERCLA claims are not cognizable under the FCA and lack the requisite false-claim element.

The underlying government complaint alleges Tetra Tech falsified radiological sampling and building testing data and submitted false results to the US Navy across contracts totaling about $262 million from 2005 to 2018.

The case is US et al. v. Tetra Tech EC Inc. et al., 13-CV-03835 (N.D. Ca.).

The court’s decision is United States ex rel. Jahr, et al. v. Tetra Tech ECh, Inc., et al., No. 13-CV-03835 (JD), 2025 WL 3124335 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2025).