WASHINGTON (CN) - The D.C. Circuit tossed out the whistleblower claims of a former American National Red Cross worker who accused the organization of mishandling its blood supplies.
Michelle Hoyte filed suit on behalf of the government under the False Claims Act, claiming the Red Cross failed to report its mishandling of 607 units of blood at its Philadelphia facility. She claimed she was fired in retaliation for launching an investigation.
The court ruled that Hoyte failed to allege that the Red Cross has any "obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the government" that it could "conceal, avoid or decrease" through a false statement or record. And because she was not investigating matters that could reasonably lead to a viable False Claims Act case, she was not entitled to whistleblower protection.
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