Whistleblowers: Show Me the Money!

This post is a 2nd in a series of blogs on the book "The Whistleblower's Handbook" by Stephen Kohn.  The 2nd chapter of the  book is called "Follow the Money" or as I like to call it SHOW ME THE MONEY!   Kohn outlines the four qui tam laws that provide financial incentives to whistleblowers, which I have covered in a previous post "Whistleblower Programs with Monetary Awards."

According to the "False Claims Act Correction Act of 2008," dated September 25, 2008,  a great deal of fraud would go unnoticed absent the assistance of whistleblowers.  Complex economic wrongdoing cannot be detected or deterred effectively without the help of those who are intimately familiar with it. Law enforcement will always be outsiders to organizations where fraud is occurring. They will not find out about such fraud until it is too late, if at all. When law enforcement does find out about such fraud, it is very labor intensive to investigate. Fraud is usually buried in mountains of paper or digital documents. It is hidden within an organization. Many different people within an organization, in multiple offices, divisions, and corporate capacities, may have participated in the illegality. Because of the complex nature of economic crime and the diffuse nature of business environments, it may not be apparent, perhaps for years, that malfeasance is afoot. By then, victims will have been hurt, records and witnesses will have disappeared, and memories will have faded Given these facts, insiders who are willing to blow the whistle are the only effective way to learn that wrongdoing has occurred. Information from insiders is the only way to effectively and efficiently piece together what happen and who is responsible. Insiders can provide invaluable assistance during an investigation by identifying key records and witnesses, interpreting technical or industry information, providing expertise, and explaining the customs and habits of the business or industry. Help from an insider can save time and expense for both law enforcement and putative defendants by focusing the investigation on relevant areas. Because of the valuable information brought by insiders, it is no surprise that Government officials state: ‘Whistleblowers are essential to our operation. Without them, we wouldn’t have cases.’

Question: How do you know if you have a case under the False Claims Act?

One Simple Answer: Does the taxpayer on the hook for any of the costs that may be incurred for any misconduct you have identified.  As reported on in a recent post "Whistleblower Payouts Could Have Reached $252 billion in 2013," estimated annual fraud losses of among companies in the United States is $840 billion.  This means that fraud is all around us...time to rat out your company and save money for the taxpayers and cash in a fat check yourself!