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Whistleblower Blog

IRS Whistleblower Officials Explain Details of New IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program

IRS officials explained long-awaited details of how the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program will work to whistleblower attorneys gathered last week at the annual Taxpayers Against Fraud Conference in Washington.

This whistleblower lawyer blog author had the pleasure of appearing with the Director of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, in a panel discussion on the new IRS Whistleblower Program. I enjoyed spending time with Director Whitlock and with the other participants, Professor Dennis Ventry of American University’s Washington College of
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Whistleblower Law Attorneys to Gather for Symposium on False Claims Act, State False Medicaid Claims Act, and New IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program

Some of the country’s leading attorneys in qui tam whistleblower cases and IRS Whistleblower cases will gather for the “First Annual Whistleblower Law Symposium,” which will take place at the Georgia State Bar Headquarters on Thursday, September 20, beginning at 9:00 a.m. (See Agenda below). This Whistleblower Law Symposium is organized and co-chaired by the authors of this whistleblower lawyer blog, Michael A. Sullivan and Richard W. Hendrix.

The presenters will include the very successful Pat O’Connell of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, whose group has recovered more than $216 million in health care fraud cases since 1999; and Jim Breen, who has represented relator Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys Inc. in many very substantial qui tam cases, including the action that led to last week’s announcement by DOJ of a settlement with Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc.

In addition, Steve Cowen of King & Spalding, LLP will chair a discussion of issues in defending False Claims Act cases; Marlan Wilbanks and other relators’ counsel will speak as well; and Charlie Richards of the Georgia Attorney General’s Office and Georgia’s Inspector General Doug Colburn will discuss the new Georgia State False Medicaid Claims Act.

We will also discuss the bill introduced last week by Senators Grassley, Durbin, Specter, and Leahy to make substantial modifications to the federal False Claims Act, the “False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007.” (See http://grassley.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=fac0a482-1321-0e36-ba6f-0150b8a2b182&Month=9&Year=2007).

Further, my partner Richard Hendrix and I will explain and discuss the new IRS Whistleblower Program created by Congress in December 2006. I spent several hours this past week in Washington with the Director of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, to prepare for and appear in a panel discussion to explain the new IRS Whistleblower Program. I also enjoyed lunch with the lead IRS official responsible for IRS Whistleblower claims in the financial services industry, Stuart Mann, and with Nicole Cammarota, an IRS official who is working on the new regulations. There is a great deal of excitement about this new IRS Whistleblower program, which rewards citizens who report large tax fraud, tax evasion, and other tax law violations to the IRS. (Our firm is pursuing a variety of IRS Whistleblower cases across the country.)

For anyone who believes that taxpayers pay too much to allow fraud against the federal and state governments, these exciting new developments in the law are important.

We are excited to be hosting this Whistleblower Law Symposium, and to discuss recent developments in the False Claims Act, the new state False Claims Acts, and the new IRS Whistleblower Program. The Agenda for the Symposium is below.
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False Claims Act New Amendments Proposed: Senators Grassley and Durbin Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Restore False Claims Act and Its Qui Tam Provisions to Encourage Whistleblowers to Protect Taxpayer Funds Against Fraud

Senators Specter and Leahy to Co-Sponsor Pro-Taxpayer Law to “Correct” Recent Court Decisions That Limited Effectiveness to Government of Qui Tam Whistleblower Law, the False Claims Act

In one of the most potentially significant developments ever discussed on this whistleblower lawyer blog, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) announced today that he and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) are co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill designed to restore the government’s primary tool for fighting fraud against taxpayers, the False Claims Act, to its intended effectiveness.
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New IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program Explained at National Conference with Its Director, Stephen Whitlock

Tomorrow in Washington, this whistleblowerlawyerblog author is looking forward to participating in a panel discussion with the Director of the new IRS Whistleblower Office, Stephen Whitlock, to explain how the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program works.

We will speak at the Taxpayers Against Fraud Annual Conference in Washington at 6 p.m. on September 9. Leading the panel discussion will be Paul Scott. I am also looking forward to the presentations by Erika Kelton and Professor Dennis Ventry of American University’s Washington
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New State False Claims Act Trend Is Evaluated at Southeastern Health Care Fraud Conference in Atlanta

Yesterday I enjoyed leading a panel discussion of the new State False Claims Acts, at the Southeastern Health Care Fraud Conference in Atlanta. Of particular interest to this audience was the new Georgia State False Medicaid Claims Act that became law in May 2007, which has qui tam whistleblower provisions similar to the federal False Claims Act.

Our audience of health care attorneys heard a detailed account of Florida’s successes with its State False Claims Act by Mark S. Thomas, the Chief
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Confidentiality of IRS Tax Whistleblowers or Informants–Federal Regulation on Keeping Whistleblowers Confidential

Our potential tax whistleblower clients–who call our attorneys about participating in the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program–regularly ask before they proceed if the IRS will keep their identities confidential.

Across the country, the IRS Special Agents we have been dealing with in representing our tax whistleblower clients (for example, in New York, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Atlanta, to name a few) have consistently answered the question the same way. Confidentiality is addressed by Treasury Regulations applicable to the IRS, which provide in part
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Whistleblower Lawyer Blog Update: Kickback Allegations Lead IBM and PriceWaterhouseCoopers to Settle False Claims Act Liability

One of the many types of fraud and false claims that whistleblowers can report to whistleblower attorneys is unlawful “kickbacks” paid by companies that do business with the federal government.

The Justice Department has announced a settlement with IBM and PriceWaterhouseCoopers for more than $5.2 million, to resolve allegations that these firms violated the False Claims Act through business arrangements that allegedly constituted unlawful kickbacks. The announcement followed a whistleblower suit under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which
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Reverse False Claim Act Case Settlment Announced by Justice Department

The Minerals Management Service of the U. S. Department of Interior is responsible for the collection of royalties on federal and Indian leases. Companies who have such leases are required to report to the Department of Interior the value of natural gas produced (or minerals mined) from federal and Indian leases and to pay a percentage to the government as royalties. When the entity that has the duty to pay the royalties files a false report and misstates what the collected revenues were, this is
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Whistleblower Lawyer Update: Medicaid Fraud Investigation Into Fraudulent Pharmacy Billings Produces Recovery in Missouri

Medicaid Fraud Recovery Announced by Missouri Attorney General
False and fraudulent billings were uncovered in a Missouri Medicaid fraud investigation that has produced a recovery by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Billings like this typically violate the False Claims Act or the various state False Claims Acts.

Prescriptions that had not been authorized by physicians were submitted and paid for by the Medicaid program. Once the suspicious activity was reported, the Attorney General’s Office’s investigation followed and produced
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Statute of Limitations for a Tax Whistleblower Case Under the IRS Whistleblower Program

From potential clients seeking information about the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program that our attorneys have written about extensively, questions have been asked about the statute of limitations for tax whistleblower cases.

If a whistleblower informant possesses information concerning false of fraudulent tax returns filed with the intent to evade taxes, 26 U.S.C. § 6501(c)(1) provides for no statute of limitations. In the case of a willful attempt in any manner to defeat or evade income tax obligations, once again, the IRS may
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New SEC Whistleblower Program & Hedge Fund Investor Protections On Way, to Supplement IRS Whistleblower Program? Congress & SEC Consider Changes After Madoff, Stanford Schemes

Could a meaningful SEC “whistleblower” program prevent the next Madoff or Stanford debacle? The SEC and legislators are now seriously considering that question. That Madoff managed to defraud investors for so long proves that the current system is inadequate.

Past experience proves that incentives to whistleblowers to report illegal acts work. The nation’s primary “anti-fraud” statute that protects federal funds, the False Claims Act, has been extremely successful in encouraging whistleblowers to come forward by allowing them to share in the government’s recovery.

As we have written about extensively on this whistleblower lawyer blog, based on the successes of the False Claims Act in fighting and deterring fraud, Congress has encouraged states to enact their own similar state false claims acts with incentives for whistleblowers to expose fraud (and almost half of the states now have such laws).

Likewise, in December 2006 Congress created the first meaningful IRS Whistleblower Program, which we regularly follow here. At present, the IRS Whistleblower Program created in December 2006 may help ferret out some SEC violations when the violator also has significant tax liability to the IRS.

Hedge fund abuses with tax consequences are already the subject of some IRS Whistleblower claims, and more will follow as the IRS Whistleblower Program gains notoriety. Based on our dealings with the IRS in pursuing these claims, this IRS Whistleblower Program has great promise.

But the IRS provisions simply do not cover all of the wrongdoing that goes on. Thus, the SEC desperately needs its own “whistleblower” program, with meaningful incentives to encourage citizens who report wrongdoing.

The SEC’s existing “whistleblower” provisions are too limited to be effective. 15 U.S.C. § 78U-1(e) authorizes a “bounty” to whistleblowers of what is effectively 0-10% of civil penalties paid in insider trading cases. (See full text here.) Thus, the SEC’s existing incentives are limited to insider trading cases, and do not address any other securities laws violations.

Like the “old” IRS Whistleblower rewards, very few awards have been made by the SEC, even in insider trading cases. Moreover, there is no “right” to a reward even if the whistleblower’s information causes the government to recover money from wrongdoers. A system of small, discretionary, and infrequent payments is simply ineffective to cause whistleblowers to come forward.

We understand that the SEC has been looking to correct this gap in protecting investors. This week, Rep.Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), the Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, released a letter from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Inspector General H. David Kotz. The IG seems to understand the need to modernize the SEC’s incentives to whistleblowers, in his recommendations below:
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SEC “Bounties” for Whistleblowers–The Statute

The statute authorizing the SEC in insider trading cases to pay whistleblowers “bounties” of up to 10% of civil penalties is below. (See our separate post discussing why the SEC needs a new, meaningful whistleblower program to help stop the next Madoff scheme.)
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False Claims Act Amendments Become Law Today, and Justice Department Expands Health Care Fraud Task Force

Today was a monentous day for those who believe in integrity in how taxpayer funds are treated.

President Obama signed into law today the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, which makes important amendments to the country’s most important tool for fighting fraud, the False Claims Act.

Also important today, the Obama administration announced an expansion of DOJ’s health-care strike forces, which are designed to combat fraud in Medicare and Medicaid programs. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Health and Human
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Interview with IRS Whistleblower Office Director Steve Whitlock on “Best Practices in Pursuing IRS Whistleblower Claims” Is Released

Last Fall, and again in March 2009, whistleblower lawyer blog co-author Michael A. Sullivan had the pleasure of sitting down with IRS Whistleblower Office Director Steve Whitlock, for an in-depth interview on the “best practices” for lawyers in pursuing IRS Whistleblower claims for their whistleblower clients.

The interview has just been published in the April 2009 False Claims Act & Qui Tam Quarterly Review. It includes some of the important points made by Director Whitlock at the IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp sponsored by Taxpayers Against Fraud in March, 2009, about which we have written previously.

The interview covers the progress of the IRS Whistleblower Office since it was established in early 2007, how the IRS process differs from pursuing qui tam cases under the False Claims Act, and the “best practices” for attorneys who pursue IRS Whistleblower claims.

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Major Whistleblower Law Development–False Claims Act Amendments Pass House of Representatives, As Part of the “Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009”

Today is an historic day–the House of Representatives has passed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 by a vote of 367-59. The Act includes long-needed amendments to the nation’s primary anti-fraud law, the False Claims Act, about which we have written often.

The amendments are designed to protect the hundreds of billions in taxpayer funds now being spent from fraud affecting TARP, other “stimulus” measures, Medicare and Medicaid, national defense including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and reconstruction efforts, and countless other government programs.

The Senate approved the Act by a vote of 92-4 on April 28th. A conference committee now will consider reconciling differences in the versions of the bill.

The new law closes a series of “loopholes” that allowed dishonest contractors to cheat the American public, and is intended to restore the False Claims Act to its original intent.

Our whistleblower lawyer blog has provided previously a detailed explanation of how the False Claims Act works by allowing private citizen “whistleblowers” (also known as qui tam “relators”) to report fraud and share in the government’s recovery. The False Claims Act also protects whistleblowers from retaliation.

Much will be written about the new amendments, which will greatly strengthen the Act’s effectiveness in combating fraud. We congratulate those in Congress with the wisdom to pass the amendments, as well as all involved in this effort!
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Fraud Against TARP Funds A Real Threat, Warns Special Inspector General for TARP

We have written previously how the “bailout” measures such as TARP–the Troubled Assets Relief Program–and other “stimulus” measures must have effective oversight,disclosure, and anti-fraud provisions to protect those funds from those who look to commit fraud. The speed at which the government has acted to address the faltering economy will only increase the opportunities for fraud. Already, TARP whistleblowers have begun to come forward with reports of misuse of billions in TARP funds.

This week, Neal Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program reiterated those points in his Quarterly Report to Congress. The IG described TARP as “inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse, including significant issues relating to conflicts of interest facing fund managers, collusion between participants and vulnerabilities to money laundering.”

Barofsky’s unit, known in government lingo as “SIGTARP,” has opened twenty investigations that include suspected securities fraud, tax law violations, insider trading and mortgage modification fraud. We expect that his staff is working closely with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division (“IRS-CI”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and other government agencies.

The audits being conducted by Barofsky’s unit address, among other things, how TARP funds are being used; compliance with executive compensation provisions; Treasury’s decisions about funding the first TARP recipients and its decisions relating to Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch; AIG and its bonuses; and the AIG counterparties that received TARP funds. These lists will only grow.

According to Barofsky, “You don’t need an entirely corrupt institution to pull one of these schemes off,” he said. “You only need a few corrupt managers whose compensation may be tied to the performance of these assets in order to effectively pull off collusion or a kickback scheme.”

Just since last Fall, the TARP program has grown in “scope, scale, and complexity” from the original program intended to purchase up to $700 billion in “toxic” assets such as troubled mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”). Now, TARP funds are going to twelve separate programs and could reach $3 trillion, according to this week’s Report.

As a practical matter, we have found that TARP funds are at greater risk of abuse in the absence of clear restrictions on use of the funds. This glaring oversight in how TARP was originally established must be remedied immediately for anti-fraud measures such as the False Claims Act to be effective in protecting the funds. Clear restrictions and limitations on TARP funds would also allow the IRS Whistleblower Program to be used by whistleblowers who report TARP abuse and fraud.

Here is the link to the Quarterly Report to Congress by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The Executive Summary is reprinted below:
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False Claims Act Amendments Gain Momentum In Bill to Combat Financial Fraud

New legislation to combat financial institution fraud, securities fraud, mortgage fraud, and other fraud and abuse is gaining momentum, and brings closer long-needed amendments to restore to its intended strength the nation’s major “whistleblower” law, the False Claims Act.

The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 386) received support yesterday in a statement from the Administration:

The Administration strongly supports enactment of S. 386. Its provisions would provide Federal investigators and prosecutors with significant new criminal and civil tools and resources
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Tax Evasion Using Offshore Accounts Establishes Fraud, As IRS Prevails Against Statute of Limitations Argument

A frequent question in our IRS Whistleblower cases is how IRS Whistleblower claims are affected by the statute of limitations. In long-running violations of the tax laws, that question can determine how much of past tax liability the IRS may be able to recover.

Yesterday, the Tax Court issued a decision that illustrates what happens when the taxpayer has engaged in fraud. (Joseph B. Williams III v. Commissioner, 2009 TNT 72-11). Because the court found that fraud was established by the taxpayer’s plea to
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IRS Announces New List of “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams

In our March 7, 2009 “IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp,” IRS Whistleblower Office Director Steve Whitlock mentioned that the IRS’s priorities include the “Dirty Dozen”–a list of tax scams that is updated yearly.

The IRS has just issued its 2009 “Dirty Dozen” list, which should be of interest to potential IRS whistleblowers. It is reprinted below:

Beware of IRS’ 2009 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today issued its 2009 “dirty dozen” list of tax scams, including schemes involving phishing, hiding income offshore and false claims for refunds.

“Taxpayers should be wary of scams to avoid paying taxes that seem too good to be true, especially during these challenging economic times,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “There is no secret trick that can eliminate a person’s tax obligations. People should be wary of anyone peddling any of these scams.”

Tax schemes are illegal and can lead to problems for both scam artists and taxpayers who risk significant penalties, interest and possible criminal prosecution.

The IRS urges taxpayers to avoid these common schemes:

Phishing

Phishing is a tactic used by Internet-based scam artists to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal or financial information. The criminals use the information to steal the victim’s identity, access bank accounts, run up credit card charges or apply for loans in the victim’s name.

Phishing scams often take the form of an e-mail that appears to come from a legitimate source, including the IRS. The IRS never initiates unsolicited e-mail contact with taxpayers about their tax issues. Taxpayers who receive unsolicited e-mails that claim to be from the IRS can forward the message to phishing@irs.gov. Further instructions are available at IRS.gov. To date, taxpayers have forwarded scam e-mails reflecting thousands of confirmed IRS phishing sites. If you believe you have been the target of an identity thief, information is available at IRS.gov.

Hiding Income Offshore
The IRS aggressively pursues taxpayers and promoters involved in abusive offshore transactions. Taxpayers have tried to avoid or evade U.S. income tax by hiding income in offshore banks, brokerage accounts or through other entities. Recently, the IRS provided guidance to auditors on how to deal with those hiding income offshore in undisclosed accounts. The IRS draws a clear line between taxpayers with offshore accounts who voluntarily come forward and those who fail to come forward.

Taxpayers also evade taxes by using offshore debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, foreign trusts, employee-leasing schemes, private annuities or life insurance plans. The IRS has also identified abusive offshore schemes including those that involve use of electronic funds transfer and payment systems, offshore business merchant accounts and private banking relationships.

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Major False Claims Act Victory for Whistleblowers in Iraq Fraud Case: Fourth Circuit Reverses Custer Battles Decision

In a major victory today for whistleblowers reporting fraud in the Iraq reconstruction effort, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s decision that took away a jury verdict from the whistleblowers or relators in this qui tam case under the False Claims Act.

The Custer Battles case has been a hard-fought one, which until this decision had produced one of the odder results found.

With hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars spent on the Iraq War and Iraq reconstruction, and with the False Claims Act supposedly protecting U.S. taxpayer funds from fraud, the whistleblowers filed a qui tam case under the False Claims Act that alleged fraud in certain contracts that addressed, among other things, replacing Iraqi currency in the Iraq reconstruction effort.

After the jury awarded a verdict to the whistleblowers, the trial court overturned it. The trial court did not view claims presented to the Coalition Provisional Authority (“CPA”) that was created and funded by the United States as the same as claims presented to the U.S. Government, even though the CPA officials were U.S. Government employees, and U.S. dollars were lost. Today’s decision by the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s decision and corrected that odd result.

This is a very positive development for whistleblowers reporting fraud in Iraq and elsewhere, as it corrects a strained interpretation of the law that has allowed fraud to go unaddressed. We congratulate everyone associated with this effort.

The Court’s conclusion from the decision today is quoted below:
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