ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Government Rewards for Blowing the Whistle on Fraud
Federal Whistleblower Programs
A whistleblower reward is a monetary incentive offered by the government to individuals who blow the whistle on fraud or other wrongdoing against the government or in violation of its laws. The government rewards whistleblowers with a percentage of the money that it recovers as a result of the whistleblower’s information. The California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. can represent whistleblowers/relators with credible, original information of fraud under each of these programs. Typically, whistleblowers are employees or former employees or other insiders (accountants, for example) of the company committing the fraud. If you have credible information for a false claims whistleblower case or any other whistleblower case in California, call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can help.
The federal government maintains four main whistleblower reward programs:
- SEC Whistleblower Program rewards whistleblowers for reporting violations of the federal securities laws.
- The largest SEC whistleblower reward to date is $50 million awarded in 2018.
- CFTC Whistleblower Program rewards whistleblower for reporting commodities and futures trading violations.
- The largest CFTC whistleblower reward to date is $30 million also awarded in 2018.
- IRS Whistleblower Program rewards whistleblower for reporting tax voidance schemes including off-shore tax avoidance schemes, fraudulent and abusive tax shelters, improper tax accounting, and other underpayments of tax
- The largest IRS whistleblower reward to date is $104 million arising from foreign bank reporting law violations.
- Federal False Claims Act Actions (also known as Qui Tams). These are court actions subject to very specific reporting and filing requirements with the Department of Justice. In these cases, successful whistleblower are rewarded for reporting fraud against the government.
- The largest qui tam whistleblower reward to date is $250 million
Protection for Whistleblowers
Federal law now protects you against retaliation from your employer for blowing the whistle on fraud under each of these whistleblower programs. If you are fired because you brought any fraud to light, you can fight back. You may be entitled to sue your employer in federal court and seek double back pay (with interest), reinstatement, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and reimbursement for certain costs in connection with the litigation. Our California whistleblower attorneys can represent you in any action for retaliation as well as represent you in your underlying whistleblower application.
Contact Us
Our whistleblower attorneys handle cases brought under the False Claims Act, bank fraud under FIRREA/FIAFEA, commodity trading and securities fraud under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program and the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, and tax fraud under the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Program. If you or a loved one has information regarding false claims, offshore tax avoidance schemes against the IRS, or securities and commodity trading fraud in violation of SEC and CFTC regulations, 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>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
