Offshore Tax Violations: Sen. Grassley Calls For Accounting of Use of UBS Information Provided by Tax Whistleblower
Offshore tax evasion is a great priority for the IRS, and thus also the IRS Whistleblower Program. Today, the leading advocate for robust whistleblower laws has called for the Treasury Department and the IRS to account for their use of information provided by the “UBS whistleblower,” Bradley Birkenfeld. Sen. Chuck Grassley issued a press release […]
Health Care Industry and 2009-2010 Changes to False Claims Act
The health care industry is adjusting to major changes to the nation’s major “whistleblower” law, the False Claims Act. Both in 2009 and 2010, Congress has removed obstacles to whistleblowers’ use of this anti-fraud statute to address Medicare and Medicaid fraud, as well as fraud affecting every other federal program. As we have written about […]
Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme to Defraud IRS Alleged in Indictment of Miami Beach Developers
A high priority for IRS Whistleblower cases is the abuse of offshore “tax havens” or offshore financial centers to conceal income from the IRS that is subject to U.S. taxation. Over drinks in Miami Beach recently with IRS agents who worked the massive UBS matter, I discussed some of the recent announced cases the IRS […]
More Details of UBS Whistleblower Birkenfeld’s Prosecution Explained in Washington Post
The Sunday, May 15, 2010 Washington Post will include more details on a perplexing question we have written about: how did UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld get himself prosecuted for a felony, and earn a prison sentence, while he sought to become an IRS whistleblower? The story by David S. Hilzenrath explains more of the “dance” […]
Should SEC Whistleblowers Have Right to Share in Recoveries That They Cause?
Congress is at a crossroads in deciding whether there will be a meaningful SEC Whistleblower Program–for the first time. At this morning’s Offshore Alert conference in Miami, we heard from the SEC Chair’s Senior Advisor Stephen Cohen on this subject, as well as insight from IRS Whistleblower Office Director Steve Whitlock on how the IRS […]
State False Claims Acts Must Be Updated to Include New False Claims Act Changes, Grassley Warns
Senator Chuck Grassley is making sure that the States take advantage of important, recent improvements to the federal False Claims Act–with the help of financial incentives. In doing so, Grassley highlighted a defect in Oklahoma’s False Claims Act that should disqualify any state with a similar defect from these financial incentives. As we have discussed […]
IRS Whistleblower Office Announces Important Changes, New Procedures for IRS Whistleblower Program
IRS Whistleblower Office Director Steve Whitlock announced important, long-awaited developments in the new IRS Whistleblower Program yesterday at the Second Annual “IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp” in Washington. First, Director Whitlock finally announced how the IRS will share information that will allow whistleblowers to understand the Whistleblower Office’s decisions about what awards are made to whistleblowers. […]
New IRS Whistleblower Program Developments Discussed This Week at “IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp”
On Tuesday, April 27, 2010, the Second Annual “IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp” will convene in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Taxpayers Against Fraud. Representatives of the IRS Whistleblower Office will discuss the latest developments in the IRS Whistleblower Program, though which tax whistleblowers can receive up to 30% of recoveries by the IRS. Other IRS and […]
SEC Charges Goldman Sachs With Fraud in Synthetic CDO Tied to Subprime Mortgages
As Congress finally works to establish a more meaningful SEC whistleblower program, the SEC has just announced that it has charged Goldman Sachs and one of its vice presidents with fraud, in connection with a “financial product tied to subprime mortgages, as the U.S. housing market was beginning to falter.” Often maligned for failing to […]
SEC Whistleblower Program–The SEC Inspector General’s Report
Post-Madoff, we have followed the legislative efforts to help establish an effective SEC whistleblower program. We know that the Senate Banking Committee in particular has worked hard in attempting to devise the best overall arrangement to encourage and reward whistleblowers who report fraud within the SEC’s jurisdiction. Shortly before Congress authorized the first meaningful IRS […]