American taxpayers are ripped off by private parties who commit fraud to the tune of many billions of dollars a year by all kinds of parties: contractors who provide services to the government with inflated costs; Medicare/Medicaid providers who inflate or falsify invoices; businesses that commit tax fraud through underreporting of taxable income, and so on. Oftentime, employees, managers, and executives become aware of this type of fraud in the workplace, and are justifiably concerned by the lack of ethics and even the liability it may create for themselves. Many companies have internal reporting channels such as hotlines or ethics officers which are ostensibly there to prevent ethics violations, but in all too many cases these have the effect of protecting the business from liability for its actions while punishing employees who do the right thing in reporting government-related fraud. For the following reasons, it is therefore recommended in many cases that an employee seek out the counsel of an experienced whistleblower attorney in reporting government-related fraud in the workplace.
Company Insiders Might Retaliate Against You
Retaliation against employees for reporting wrongdoing is illegal, plain and simple. But does it happen? Sadly, yes. Even at a huge entity like Wells Fargo, which would one expect to have robust internal procedures, several whistleblowers were fired after internally reporting about the widespread fraud that had occurred at the bank. Imagine the possibilities at an entity with far less visibility and internal watchdogs.
If there is fraudulent wrongdoing occurring at the top level of a corporate entity, it probably should come as no surprise that the responsible parties may not suddenly “do the right thing” when their wrongdoing is reported internally.
Working With an Attorney Allows You to Raise Your Concerns Confidentially
By working with an attorney, you can bring evidence of government-related fraud to the attention of the proper authorities in a confidential manner and protect yourself from retaliation. Your attorney is bound by attorney-client privilege to maintain a confidential relationship with you.
Furthermore, unlike company insiders, your attorney’s only interest is in representing your interests, not the company’s interests. Although your identity may in some cases be known at some point down the line in raising your concern, your attorney will take all necessary precautions to protect your identity for as long as possible and shield you from retaliation.
You May Be Eligible for a Whistleblower Reward By Raising Concerns Externally
Through the Federal Claims Act (FCA) and other federal whistleblowing laws, you may be eligible to obtain a significant whistleblowing reward for your efforts in bringing fraud to the government’s attention. In a typical FCA claim, a whistleblower can receive between 10% and 30% of the money recovered against the defendant, which often reaches into the millions. But to obtain a whistleblowing reward, it is generally necessary for you to be the first person who provides actionable information to the government through your attorney. By raising your concerns internally, another party (including the business itself) may notify the government instead, thus eliminating your opportunity for collecting a hefty whistleblowing reward.
Consult Confidentially With a Whistleblower Fraud Attorney
At Kreindler & Associates, we understand that the decision to become a whistleblower is not an easy one. The government relies on courageous insiders like you to come forward with information that can stop fraud that targets taxpayers everywhere. We will work with you every step of the way to determine your appropriate course of action, protect you from retaliation, and collect your much-deserved reward. If you suspect that someone is committing government-related fraud, contact us today for assistance with your concerns.
