Whistleblower Claims

Michael A. Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor in fraud and corruption cases, leads our whistleblower practice. In three decades of working with the False Claims Act, he has won successful recoveries for our whistleblower clients in difficult, ground-breaking cases, including the largest health care fraud case in history in the nursing home industry. He was consulted by Congress as it wrote the law creating the SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs. He met with SEC and CFTC commissioners to help design their rules for whistleblower claims, and since then has also represented SEC whistleblowers and CFTC whistleblowers. At the request of legislators, he has helped write state False Claims Acts. He also has long experience in IRS whistleblower claims.

Larry D. Thompson is the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General (2001-2003), the second highest-ranking position in the U.S. Department of Justice. As Deputy Attorney General, he led the Department of Justice’s National Security Coordination Council, as well as the government-wide Corporate Fraud Task Force. Mr. Thompson also served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia (1982-1986). He has also served as Independent Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation, and as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and General Counsel for PepsiCo. He also served as the Volkswagen AG Independence Compliance Monitor. He previously was a partner and co-founder of the special matters and government investigations practice at King & Spalding, LLP.

Walter E. Jospin is one of the only former senior officers of the SEC who now represents whistleblowers. His distinguished career in private practice and at the SEC has included serving as a trial attorney with the SEC’s Enforcement Division, where he broke new ground by litigating the first accounting case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Over the next three decades, he established a successful private practice as a securities, corporate, and governance lawyer. From 2015 to January 2018, he served as the Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office, before joining our firm. As SEC Regional Director, he supervised the Enforcement and Exam functions of the Atlanta office. Mr. Jospin’s experience and relationships allow us to identify which SEC offices and staff are most likely to produce a successful outcome for our SEC whistleblower clients.

Emma Cecil joined our firm’s whistleblower practice in 2018, after more than a decade of experience defending whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act and complex white-collar criminal cases. She began her career with a prestigious clerkship with a judge of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a frequent speaker on whistleblower cases. With deep experience in the False Claims Act and SEC issues, she is a fierce advocate for our whistleblower clients.

David Bouchard is an accomplished trial lawyer with broad civil and criminal experience in cases involving allegations of health care fraud and securities violations. His background includes advising clients on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) issues. He joined Finch McCranie in 2019 after gaining significant experience at a premier international law firm. At Finch McCranie, he has made significant contributions to our complex whistleblower claims.

Gabriel Knisely is a former federal court clerk who focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, high stakes business litigation, and catastrophic personal injury. Gabriel enjoys representing people facing complex problems and helping them achieve winning solutions.