Whistleblower Adviser

Whistleblowers have become increasingly more recognized in the public eye since the 1960s and particularly after Time Magazine named 2002 ‘The Year of the Whistleblower.’ However the whistleblower definition remains the same: a whistle blower is an individual, usually an employee; that discloses information to the public or the authorities about mismanagement, corruption, illegal activity, fraud or any other wrongdoing in the workplace.

Blowing the Whistle

Blowing the whistle can often be one of the most difficult decisions a person may be faced with.  However a number of federal whistleblower statutes and state statutes and regulations have been enacted to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Federal whistleblower statutes protect employees who file a whistleblower suit from discharge and discrimination. Furthermore the federal False Claims Act incentivises whistleblowing by offering a financial reward of up to 30% of the recovered damages to anyone who files a lawsuit against a company committing fraud against the U.S government.

Federal Whistleblower Statute

The majority of states have enacted a federal whistleblower statute however these statutes vary widely as some only apply to public employees, whilst some apply to public and private employees and others apply to public employees and employees of public contractors. Therefore it is essential that potential whistleblowers are familiar with the federal whistleblower statute and whistleblower policies that apply to them before filing suit. Under a typical U.S federal whistleblower statute, in order to meet the terms of the whistleblower definition, the individual must have reason to believe that his or her employer has violated a law, rule or regulation and must then testify or commence a legal proceeding.

In order to ensure that the individual is familiar with legal procedure, the whistleblower definition and whistleblower policies it is highly recommended that any individuals who wish to disclose wrongdoing speak first with an experienced attorney.

If you know of an employer or a company that is engaged in illegal activity or wrongdoing but you are unsure about whether to blow the whistle, and see that they are held accountable for their actions, attorneys our experienced personal injury law firm can offer their legal help. Please fill out an online form and learn more about your legal rights, whistleblower policies and the consequences of filing suit.

If you become aware of a company cheat or have evidence of a company cheating the government then it becomes your responsibility to blow the whistle on the fraudulent scheme. Whistleblowers that report government fraud or provide evidence of a company cheat will be entitled to receive a reward of up to 30% of the total amount recovered by the government. There are endless opportunities for companies with government contracts to commit fraud so it is important that there are appropriate methods to curtail fraudulent activity whilst offering whistleblowers with essential informant protection.

Reporting Government Fraud

The role of the whistleblower is to come forward with any inside information regarding fraud. The False Claims Act is specifically designed to allow and encourage individuals who are not affiliated with the government to blow the whistle on companies and report government fraud whilst receiving informant protection and an incentivising financial reward should their case be successful.

Whistleblower Protection

Blowing the whistle on a company can be an extremely stressful and long process therefore the U.S have implemented a number of laws that protect whistleblowers. Whistleblowers can also benefit from the National Whistleblower Center. The National Whistleblower Center is a non profit, non partisan, advocacy organization which is dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals who speak out about any wrongdoing or criminal activity in the workplace without fear of retaliation. The National Whistleblower Center has provided U.S citizens with support in court and before congress and also sponsors educational and assistance programs that are designed to help whistleblowers come forward and report government fraud. The Whistleblower Center also has an online resource which provides potential whistleblowers with important information on the Whistleblower Act and informant protection details.

If you have become aware of a company that is cheating the government but are unsure about whether to blow the whistle, and see that they are held accountable for their actions, an experienced whistleblower attorney at our personal injury law firm can offer their legal help. Please fill out an online form and learn more about your legal rights, informant protection and the consequences of filing suit.

Famous whistleblowers in recent years have been instrumental in shaping more stringent U.S financial regulations. Incentivising schemes have also been introduced by the U.S government to encourage more individuals to blow the whistle by offering financial rewards and improving the laws protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. Famous whistleblowers have gained global recognition and not only raised awareness of the importance of the individual whistleblower but have successfully implemented the False Claims Act, designed to allow people who are not affiliated with the government to file suit against a federal contractor who is defrauding the government .

Famous Whistleblowers

Time Magazine honored famous whistleblowers, Cynthia Cooper of Worldcom, Sherron Watkins of Enron and Colleen Rowley of the FBI in their 2002 Person’s of the year award. This national recognition not only raised public awareness and encouraged individuals to act accordingly it also instigated rigorous amendments to the U.S Whistleblowers Act which introduced more effective laws protecting whistleblowers.

Laws Protecting Whistleblowers

There are over 30 federal laws protecting whistleblowers from employer retaliation. Amongst the laws protecting whistleblowers is the Sarbanes Oxley Act which was introduced in the aftermath of huge financial scandals surrounding global entities WorldCom and Enron.  Cynthia Cooper, whistleblower and former employee of WorldCom is the perfect example of one of the many famous whistleblowers that can be learnt from. Cooper discovered that the Clinton, Mississippi based company had been classifying operating costs as capital expenditures in order to inflate profits. Cooper’s response was to attend the auditing committee of WorldCom’s board in June 2002 and draw attention to the fact that the company had been using suspect accounting practices and within days the board fired WorldCom’s chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan. WorldCom later disclosed that it inflated profits for over a year by the improper accounting of more than $3.9 billion by transferring routine expenses to capital expenditures in order to create the appearance of larger earnings. In 2005 Bernard Ebbers, WorldCom’s CEO was found guilty by a federal jury of fraud, conspiracy, and filing false documents with regulators and sentenced to 85 years in prison.

Cynthia Cooper, whistleblower and former WorldCom employee went on to form Cynthia Cooper consulting and now offers advice on corporate ethics to corporations, universities and business schools throughout North America.

There is a great deal to be learnt from famous whistleblowers so if you are considering blowing the whistle on an employer or company then you should contact an experienced whistleblower attorney at our personal injury law firm who will evaluate your claim and protect you from retaliation. Please fill out an online form and learn more about your legal rights and the consequences of filing suit.

The Medtronic and Pfizer Medicaid fraud cases are amongst the most recognized examples of a  Medical fraud investigation set in motion by a whistleblower. Both of these Medicaid fraud cases demonstrate how whistleblowers can effectively induce a medical fraud investigation as a result of filing a whistleblower lawsuit.

Medtronic Whistleblower Lawsuit

The Medtronic whistleblower lawsuit was filed by a former employee of Medtronic, one of the largest medical device makers in the U.S. The whistleblower contended that in recent years the company had spent millions of dollars on consulting contracts and a series of other payments to doctors and prominent surgeons in the spinal-implant division in order to retain the doctors’ business and ensure that they used Medtronic devices. The Medtronic whistleblower lawsuit accuses Medtronic of distributing unwarranted Medicare money and kickbacks to over 130 surgeons who promoted off-label use of FDA-approved medical devices and filed Medicare claims in direct violation of the False Claims Act. Specifics that were uncovered after a thorough medical fraud investigation include details of a prominent surgeon in Wisconsin who was paid $400,000 a year by Medtronic for a consulting contract which only …

Lance Armstrong and his closest supporters were named as defendants in a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed by Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis in 2010. The high profile individuals involved in the Lance Armstrong lawsuit has made it one of the most famous cases of federal whistleblower law due to its significant place in the public eye. Under the False Claims Act Landis accused Armstrong of taking performance enhancing drugs, Landis also named in his complaint; corporate backers Bar Knaggs Bill Stapleton, Thom Weisel and  number of corporate entities who had backed Armstrong’s team over the past decade. Floyd Landis’ whistleblower lawsuit was first reported in the Wall Street Journal however specific details remain under seal and as a result exact content on the Lance Armstrong lawsuit is unknown.

Floyd Landis Whistleblower Lawsuit

The Floyd Landis whistleblower lawsuit was filed under the U.S Federal False Claims Act which allows citizens who are in no way affiliated with the government to sue on behalf of the government. The Act states that individuals can file suit against …

The aftermath of the heinous financial crimes in the U.S and the recession of the late 2000s resulted in the introduction of a number of financial reforms under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. These Wall Street reforms constitute the greatest changes to U.S financial regulation since the Great Depression, affecting the Federal Financial regulatory agencies and almost every aspect of the financial services industry. Incentives including the Qui Tam lawsuit which provides a whistleblower reward scheme was also introduced to encourage individuals with inside knowledge to assist the government in putting a stop to fraud.

Whistleblower Rewards

A Whistleblower reward can be as much as 15 to 30 percent of the funds that are reimbursed to the government, in some cases these whistleblower awards can be so high that the whistleblower in question will never …