Category: WHISTLEBLOWERS
New Treasury Secretary applauds role of IRS whistleblowers
Newly confirmed Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee that she was committed to respecting and protecting whistleblowers as “an important asset to the integrity of the agency and tax system more generally.” Read her written response to a question about the role of whistleblowers and a recent downturn in IRS whistleblower …
Continue reading “New Treasury Secretary applauds role of IRS whistleblowers”
Stats Show Whistleblowers Are Key Partners in the Fight Against the Many Faces of Fraud
The Department of Justice’s 2020 data is here, and it paints another compelling picture of the value brought by whistleblowers who file cases under the False Claims Act (FCA). In 2020, claims filed by whistleblowers were responsible for about 75% of new cases filed and about 75% of government fraud proceeds. And rewards made to …
What Should You Know Before Becoming a Whistleblower?
Here are some things you should know before stepping forward as a whistleblower. 1. Whistleblowing can be a challenging and lengthy process Whistleblower cases often take years, and the consequences of blowing the whistle can upend your life and that of your family. Your integrity can be attacked, your reputation can be smeared, your livelihood …
Continue reading “What Should You Know Before Becoming a Whistleblower?”
What Can You Do to Strengthen Your False Claims Act Case?
If you suspect that your employer or some other entity is committing fraud against the government, here are some things you can do to increase your chances of bringing a successful False Claims Act case. 1. Act quickly Quick action serves the important purpose of stopping the fraud and the harm it is causing. In …
Continue reading “What Can You Do to Strengthen Your False Claims Act Case?”
What are the Goals and Rewards of Whistleblower Programs?
The news in recent years has had many stories about “whistleblowers”—what they reported, what caused them to blow the whistle, and what happened as a result. Perhaps you have seen some sort of misconduct on the part of an employer, a corporation, a competitor, or a health provider. And you wonder “Am I a whistleblower?” …
Continue reading “What are the Goals and Rewards of Whistleblower Programs?”
A Not-So-Dynamic Vision—The Documents Illuminate the Falsity
It is unusual for any plaintiff or relator to achieve a summary judgment ruling in its favor in any type of case. But in U.S. v. Dynamic Visions Inc., DBA Dynamic Visions Home Health Services, et al., — F.3d —, 2020 WL 4914069 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 21, 2020), the D.C. Circuit affirmed such a ruling …
Continue reading “A Not-So-Dynamic Vision—The Documents Illuminate the Falsity”
National Whistleblower Day
July 30th is National Whistleblower Appreciation Day. Halunen Law applauds the men and women who have the courage to blow the whistle when they become aware of illegal conduct by their employers. Managing Partner Clayton Halunen observed, “We have had the honor of representing many whistleblowers, and what is so impressive is their sense of integrity …
Reflections on National Whistleblower Appreciation Day
With Covid-19, we are in a new time and a new space for celebrating the role of whistleblowers in our communities, our nation and our world. We have often heard that whistleblowers are critical for preventing the waste, fraud and abuse that limit the effectiveness of government agencies and take money out of taxpayer’s pockets …
Continue reading “Reflections on National Whistleblower Appreciation Day”
FRAUD AND COVID-19 – Calling Out the Best and Worst of Us
“There is no kind of dishonesty into which otherwise good people more easily and frequently fall than that of defrauding the government.” — Benjamin Franklin Crises like those we are experiencing now with Covid-19 call out the best of us – we see individuals providing care regardless of risk to self, communities reaching out to …
Continue reading “FRAUD AND COVID-19 – Calling Out the Best and Worst of Us”
Covid-19 Creates Opportunity to Rethink Virus-Monitoring Strategies
The worldwide spread of Covid-19 coronavirus presents an opportunity to rethink the way respiratory viruses are monitored in order to better understand how they spread, epidemiologist and Cochrane researcher Dr. Tom Jefferson writes in a new blog post for the BMJ journal. Dr. Jefferson is an internationally respected epidemiologist who is the Relator in a …
Continue reading “Covid-19 Creates Opportunity to Rethink Virus-Monitoring Strategies”