Whistleblower and Fraud

To a whistleblower, fraud is not acceptable. Whether the fraud occurs in government, at a corporation, or by an individual, a whistleblower can do something about it. Unfortunately fraud occurs more often than we think. Some recent examples include:

Bernard Madoff — financial investments/securities fraud who reportedly scammed $50 billion
Actor Wesley Snipes — indicted but acquitted of tax fraud, convicted of misdemeanor tax crimes
Eli Lilly & Co. — the pharmaceutical company recently settled the federal government's Medicare abuse case for $1.4 billion
Marcus Schrenker — the money manager suspected of staging his recent "death in a plane crash"

The Spectrum of a Whistleblower and Fraud

Whistleblowers have uncovered and reported fraud committed by:

government agencies or contractors (such as Halliburton)
private companies (such as WorldCom, Enron and a host of other corporations)
individuals (dating from long before the infamous Charles Ponzi, the namesake of the Ponzi scheme)

Medicare Fraud Amounts to Billions

The amount of money that has been gained by fraud in the U.S. is staggering. Medicare fraud alone is estimated to cost U.S. taxpayers $35 billion a year. In fact, according to the FBI, healthcare / Medicare fraud is so easy and profitable that many drug dealers are switching to this crime as a new career.

For example, in South Florida, fraud focusing on medical equipment for Medicare recipients has become so widespread that every single medical equipment company operating in the region had its Medicare approval revoked recently, with reapplication required to ensure compliance with the law.

The Role of Whistleblowers in Fraud Detection

Whatever the source of fraud (or other types of corruption), it is often "the common man" (or woman) who stops the fraud by blowing the whistle. It can take a good deal of courage to be a whistleblower. Retaliation by an employer or others is a possibility and may include:

isolation by others
demotion, loss of promotion
subtle and not-so-subtle pressure
cut in pay
public scrutiny
job termination
harassment, stress
death threats
attempts on the whistleblower's life (in the most serious cases; e.g., Frank Serpico)

However, whistleblower protection laws exist to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Anyone who is considering becoming a whistleblower (or as the legendary Frank Serpico puts it, "a lamplighter") should consult a whistleblower lawyer first. It's critical to protect your own rights and future by getting legal counsel from an experienced and knowledgeable source. For more information or to speak with an experienced attorney for whistleblowers, contact us.

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Whistleblower and Fraud

The Spectrum of a Whistleblower and Fraud

Medicare Fraud Amounts to Billions

The Role of Whistleblowers in Fraud Detection

Other Areas of Law