Briefcase

Bank of America told to pay whistle-blower

NEW YORK – Bank of America has been ordered to pay a former employee $930,000 for violating federal whistle-blower protection laws.

The Labor Department also ordered the bank to reinstate the worker.

The employee, who worked for Countrywide Financial Corp., was fired shortly after the mortgage lender was bought by Bank of America Corp. in 2008.

The Los Angeles-area employee led internal investigations that revealed widespread and pervasive wire, mail and bank fraud involving Countrywide employees, according to a Labor Department statement Wednesday.

The payment will cover back wages, interest, compensatory damages and attorney fees.

Bank of America said it plans to challenge the order. The Charlotte, N.C., bank said it dismissed the employee because of issues related to management style rather than the complaints. The bank said it takes allegations of fraud seriously and that the employee’s allegations were investigated and appropriate actions were taken.

Associated Press

Software maker to pay $20 million over fraud

SAN FRANCISCO – Business software maker SAP AG on Wednesday said it agreed to pay $20 million to settle criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice against a now-defunct subsidiary, TomorrowNow.

The subsidiary was accused of 12 counts of fraud and copyright infringement for stealing documents from rival Oracle Corp.’s password-protected websites. SAP had earlier acknowledged the theft and shut down the division. The $20 million penalty is twice what SAP had paid to acquire TomorrowNow in 2005.

The settlement, however, does not resolve a bigger problem for SAP in the case.

A jury awarded Oracle $1.3 billion last year in a verdict against SAP in a civil lawsuit. But on Sept. 1 a judge threw out the award, calling it “grossly excessive.” Oracle said it will reject the judge’s recommendation for a $272 million award, setting the stage for a new trial.

Associated Press

FDA, CDC investigating listeriosis outbreak

DENVER – The Food and Drug Administration is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine the source of contaminated cantaloupe blamed for a multistate listeriosis outbreak.

More than two dozen cases of the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported in Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana and Texas, and four people have died. Health officials say most consumed cantaloupe likely marketed from Rocky Ford in Colorado.

Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo., is voluntarily recalling cantaloupe it shipped between July 29 and Sept. 10.

Associated Press