CFO Sues Solar Company, Alleges Financial Improprieties, Fraud, Misuse of EB-5 Foreign Investment Funds, Discrimination Against Non-Chinese Employees GalleryCFO Sues Solar Company, Alleges Financial Improprieties, Fraud, Misuse of EB-5 Foreign Investment Funds, Discrimination Against Non-Chinese Employees
CFO Sues Solar Company, Alleges Financial Improprieties, Fraud, Misuse of EB-5 Foreign Investment Funds, Discrimination Against Non-Chinese Employees
According to the lawsuit, Mr. McCaffrey discovered that SolarMax, by engaging in a series of Enron-like “round trip” transactions with sham middleman entities, reported approximately $50,000,000 in phantom revenue on its 2011 and 2012 audited financial statements. In an effort to create a false impression of stronger financial performance and, thus, to attract investment capital, the suit alleges that SolarMax disseminated these artificially inflated figures to EB-5 investors (mostly in Taiwan and China) and others. Mr. McCaffrey also alleges that the inflated revenue figures were presented to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – part of U.S. Homeland Security – which regulates the EB-5 program.
“Most people do not realize that there is a program by which foreign citizens can literally purchase Green Cards if they have enough money and invest it in a qualifying business,” said Mr. Helmer. The program is notorious for potential abuse and exploitation. The USCIS and the SEC have cautioned potential investors “about fraudulent investment scams that exploit the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as EB-5.”
The program is notorious for potential abuse and exploitation. The USCIS and the SEC have cautioned potential investors “about fraudulent investment scams that exploit the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as EB-5.”
The lawsuit further alleges that Mr. McCaffrey exposed a series of other unlawful activities at SolarMax, including efforts to defraud the Social Security Administration by placing non-employee friends and relatives on the company’s payroll for the sole purpose of permitting them to earn Social Security credits. He further alleges that there existed a pattern of favoritism for the many employees of Chinese descent, and that he – and other employees who were not of Chinese descent – were subjected to unfair treatment and discrimination.
Commenting on the lawsuit, Mr. Helmer said, “Mr. McCaffrey, in his role as the CFO, was simply trying to ensure that SolarMax complied with the same set of rules and operated on the same playing field as all other law-abiding companies. Instead, he was fired after discovering a pattern of improprieties and trying to protect himself – and the company – by insisting that they be discontinued.”
For more information, please contact Gregory D. Helmer or Courtney Abrams at (310) 396-7714.
State Bar of California’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s 5th Advanced Wage & Hour Conference and 32nd Labor & Employment Law Section Annual Meeting GalleryState Bar of California’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s 5th Advanced Wage & Hour Conference and 32nd Labor & Employment Law Section Annual Meeting
State Bar of California’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s 5th Advanced Wage & Hour Conference and 32nd Labor & Employment Law Section Annual Meeting
July 9, 2015 – Helmer Friedman LLP attorneys Andrew H. Friedman and Priyan Chandraratna will be speaking at the State Bar of California’s Labor and Employment Law Section’s 5th Advanced Wage & Hour Conference and 32nd Labor And Employment Law Section Annual Meeting on July 9 & 10, 2015 at:
JW Marriott LA Live,
900 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Mr. Friedman will be speaking along with Anthony Oncidi (of Proskauer Rose LLP) on a panel entitled The Good, The Bad & The Ugly – A Review of Recent Employment Law Cases. In this fast-paced discussion, Mr. Friedman and Mr. Oncidi will reprise their annual review of recent employment law cases with an emphasis on those cases of most utility to the employment practitioner whether plaintiff, defense or neutral.
Mr. Chandraratna will be speaking on a panel entitled Employment Discrimination 101. This panel will provide a summary of the key challenges of litigating an employment discrimination case from the plaintiff and defense perspectives, including jurisdiction and venue selection, which causes of action to plead and how to plead them so the complaint sticks, strategies to attack the complaint early on in the litigation and key defenses. Mr. Chandraratna will be speaking with Daphne Anneet (of Burke Williams & Sorensen) and Dolores Leal (of Allred Maroko & Goldberg, Los Angeles).
For more information about the Labor and Employment Law Section’s 5th Advanced Wage & Hour Conference and 32nd Labor And Employment Law Section Annual Meeting, go to http://laborlaw.calbar.ca.gov/Education/AdvancedWageHourConference/Schedule.aspx
$5.7 Million Jury Verdict for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
May 1, 2015 –
Court of Appeal Affirm’s Ted Mathew’s $5.7 Million Jury Verdict For Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Today, the California Court of Appeal reversed a trial court ruling and reinstated a $5.7 Million jury verdict that Charles “Ted” Mathews obtained on behalf Dr. Michael W. Fitzgibbons. Commenting about this victory, Andrew H. Friedman of Helmer Friedman LLP, said “Ted’s victory today exemplifies why we wanted him to join our law firm. We think that Ted is one of the premier trial attorneys on the West Coast and we could not be happier that he is working with us.”
Mr. Mathews’ client, Dr. Fitzgibbons, sued his former employer, Integrated Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (“IHHI”), for intentional infliction of emotional distress based on the conduct of IHHI’s chief executive officer (“CEO”). At trial, the jury impliedly found that IHHI’s CEO carried out his threat to “humble” Dr. Fitzgibbons by having him arrested after arranging for a loaded handgun to be planted in his car. The jury also impliedly found the CEO caused Dr. Fitzgibbons’s daughter to be in a serious auto accident after one of her tires was slashed. The CEO retaliated against Dr. Fitzgibbons to punish him for his outspoken opposition to IHHI’s acquisition of the hospital where Dr. Fitzgibbons had just completed a term as chief of staff, and also Dr. Fitzgibbons’s success in an earlier lawsuit that resulted in a $150,000 attorneys fee award against IHHI. Accordingly, the jury found in favor of Dr. Fitzgibbons and awarded him $5.7 million in compensatory and punitive damages on his intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against IHHI.
Following the trial, the trial court granted IHHI’s motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict because it found IHHI was not vicariously liable for its CEO’s misconduct under the respondeat superior doctrine. According to the trial court, the CEO acted outside the scope of his employment because he held a personal grudge against Fitzgibbons and therefore his conduct was not reasonably foreseeable.
Courtney Abrams “Rising Star” Second Year
March 3, 2015 – Courtney Abrams has been selected as a “Rising Star” for the second year in a row.
Super Lawyers Nine Consecutive Years
March 3, 2015- Law & Politics Magazine and the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine have selected Gregory D. Helmer and Andrew H. Friedman as 2015 Southern California “Super Lawyers” in the category of Labor and Employment Law. This is the ninth consecutive year that both Mr. Friedman and Mr. Helmer have been selected as “Super Lawyers.”
Courtney Abrams has been selected as a “Rising Star” for the second year in a row.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Employment Law Cases of 2014
January 26, 2015 – If you want to learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly employment law cases of 2014, you really need to attend the Employment Law Update sponsored by the Labor & Employment Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association on January 26, 2015 featuring Helmer Friedman LLP partner Andrew H. Friedman. Mr. Friedman will be speaking with The Honorable Judge Virginia Keeny of the Los Angeles Superior Court and Anthony J. Oncidi of Proskauer Rose LLP. Space is limited and individuals interested in attending are strongly urged to register now! For more information and to register, go to https://bhba.org/index.php/component/jevents/icalrepeat.detail/2015/01/26/679/-/126-employment-law-update-the-best-and-the-worst-of-2014.