ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
California Assembly Approves Expansion
Other States Expanding False Claims Statutes
Assisting Enforcement Of Tax Laws
This past summer, the California State Assembly approved Assembly Bill AB 2570, expanding the California False Claims Act (CFCA) to include cases of tax fraud brought by private whistleblowers. Hopefully, AB 2570 will pass the State Senate and become law. Under the bill, whistleblowers could bring CFCA actions against corporations for evading California corporate income tax, sales and use taxes, or other State taxes. Whistleblowers would be eligible to receive rewards for their efforts as they are under the current CFCA. See Cal. Gov’ Code Section 12652(g)(2). Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents individuals who bring whistleblower cases under the CFCA for false claims against the State of California and our litigators hope California will enlarge the scope of the CFCA to include tax cases. If you have credible information of fraud against the State, call our attorneys today at (415)441-8669.
Private Whistleblower Actions Aid Enforcement
Even as the CFCA currently stands, private whistleblower cases recover hundreds of millions of dollars for the State of California from businesses and individuals defrauding the State and its taxpayers through fraudulent billing for goods or services, reimbursement for unapproved drugs, and fraud in contract work. Under AB 2570 private whistleblowers could also bring cases where the State was out $200,000 or more as the result of illegal tax evasion. This would be an important additional tool for State enforcement of tax laws. States like New York and Illinois that have expanded their State false claims acts to include tax cases have seen significant results since the passage of amendments. The District of Columbia is currently considering expansion of its own false claims statute.
How Evans Law Firm Can Help
The CFCA whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm have experience with State false claims cases and tax fraud cases brought under the IRS Whistleblower Program for evasion of federal income tax laws, often through offshore tax avoidance schemes, use of foreign bank accounts or shell corporations, and similar fraudulent schemes. Our attorneys know how to investigate false claims and tax avoidance cases and are prepared to represent whistleblowers in bringing tax fraud cases under the CFCA if the State Senate ratifies AB 2570. Any whistleblower bringing any action would be protected from employer retaliation for bringing a suit (just as under the existing CFCA) and our litigators represent whistleblowers in anti-retaliation cases and the underlying whistleblower (or qui tam) action.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has information regarding false claims against the State of California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower and false claims attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Ingrid and our other California whistleblower attorneys also handle cases before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding tax avoidance schemes and before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in securities and investment fraud cases and in cases brought under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) for bank fraud.
