An ex-Vice President with JP Morgan, Shaquala Williams, initiated a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the bank fired her in retaliation for whistleblower complaints that are protected by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). In particular, she said that JP Morgan lacked adequate internal controls to detect fraud and that the bank had violated its agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Her case is a telling example of why it is imperative that whistleblowers and employers take note of and comply with SOX.
Williams worked in the bank’s Global Anti-Corruption Compliance (GACC) organization for approximately one year. During her work in GACC, she claims she reported concerns about JP Morgan maintaining inaccurate internal records, which resulted in misleading disclosures to regulators like the SEC. Likewise, Williams asserts that she complained about a lack of invoice controls, which are designed to ensure that the bank was not funding corruption by labeling corrupt third-party payments as legitimate business expenses. And her lawsuit states that she also complained about the lack of independent oversight within the bank’s compliance department as well as deficient due diligence review procedures. Her lawsuit lays out a complete summary of her claims.
Because of her complaints/protected activities, Williams contends that JP Morgan retaliated against her by, among other things:
Removing significant job responsibilities
...File photo of Vinod Kambli PTI Former India cricketer Vinod Kambli hasn't been in the best of health for a long time. But serious concerns over his health emerged a few days ago when a friend of h...