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[co-author: Alex Cotoia]
Alex Cotoia, Regulatory Manager and Compliance Consultant at the Volkov Law Group, re-joins us for a posting on whistleblower protections.
When Congress overrode former President Donald J. Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) in January of this year, it simultaneously enacted the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”) into law. AMLA significantly expands upon the regulatory framework of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and represents by many accounts the single most aggressive legislative effort to curb money laundering and terrorist financing since the adoption of the USA PATRIOT Act in the aftermath of 9/11. Although much of the editorial focus has been on the expansion of the BSA’s reach under AMLA (into emerging markets like the cryptocurrency trade, for instance), it is equally important to take note of AMLA’s emphasis on enhancing protections for would-be whistleblowers.
Brody
PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge has ruled that additional attorney fees’ and expenses totaling nearly $350,000 will be awarded to a plaintiff who garnered a $1 million settlement from NJ Transit, for alleged violations of the Federal Rail Safety Act.
A Jan. 8
ruling from U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Anita B. Brody awarded the requested amount to plaintiff Jerome Johnson and his lawyers at Coffey & Kaye in Bala Cynwyd in his case alongside Jermaine Jenkins (and later, his widow Quinetta Jenkins) versus defendant New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, Inc.
In 2017, plaintiffs Johnson and Jenkins filed this action against New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, Inc. (NJTRO) alleging violations of the Federal Rail Safety Act. They said they were instructed to perform train movements and other activities that violated federal law, like permitting equipment to foul a track. They refused and issued good faith challenges.