ATLANTA,GA
DULUTH, GA
As this whistleblower lawyer blog has written about often, abuses of offshore transactions have increasingly become a target of IRS enforcement efforts. A Utah attorney learned this lesson last week when he was sentenced to ten years in prison, and was ordered to pay $2.7 million, for his role in an offshore tax evasion scheme that deprived the government of more than $20 million in taxes. (more…)
The Medicare program depends on the integrity of “trusted contractors” to process and pay Medicare claims. This past week, one of those “trusted contractors” operating in New Jersey, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, agreed to pay the federal government $2.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee operated as the primary Medicare Part A Fiscal Intermediary for New Jersey, under the name “Riverbend Government Benefit Administrators.” (more…)
The wave of new State False Claims Acts has generated a flurry of letters from the Office of Inspector General of HHS this past week. OIG has now “approved” the new State False Claims Acts of California, Georgia, Indiana, and Rhode Island, but has “disapproved” those of six other states: Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
As this whistleblower lawyer blog has written about extensively, Congress has created financial incentives for states to enact their own versions of the highly
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On July 31, Congress enacted a new Whistleblower Law designed to promote consumer product safety. The new federal legislation specifically was enacted to protect public and private sector employees who disclose to their employers, a regulatory agency or a state Attorney General any perceived violation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The law also provides protection for employees who refuse to participate in violations of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Act. Obviously, the purpose of this legislation was to protect employees who, in good faith,
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As another step toward the further development of the new IRS Whistleblower Program, our friends at the IRS Large and Midsize Business Division (LMSB) in Lower Manhattan have announced a three-step process for IRS Whistleblower claims that are eligible for the new “rewards” authorized by Congress in December 2006.
IRS Commisioner Frank Ng describes it as a “process for analyzing informant information and disseminating it to the field” for claims with at least $2 million in question, which is the threshold amount for whistleblowers to be eligible to receive the new IRS whistleblower rewards of 15-30% of the government’s recovery.
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At the annual “Continuing Judicial Education” conference in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia this week, I was honored to be invited to speak to the assembled judges about the new state False Claims Act in Georgia, the State False Medicaid Claims Act.
As this whistleblower lawyer blog has written about extensively, there is a wave of new state False Claims Acts across the country, as Congress has urged states to replicate the dramatic successes of the federal False Claims Act in stopping those who steal taxpayer funds.
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At the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on the Cayman Islands and offshore tax evasion last week, Senator Charles Grassley reiterated the importance of the new IRS Whistleblower program to combat tax evasion, but also stressed the need for Congress to provide the IRS greater tools to address offshore tax evasion.
The July 24 hearing focused on GAO’s investigation into the Ugland House, a law firm’s office building in the Cayman Islands that is the registered address of thousands of corporations. The hearing also examined
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This past week the IRS Commissioner of the Large and Midsized Business Division summarized the IRS’s efforts to combat offshore tax evasion. He predicted that whistleblowers will become increasingly important to the IRS’ efforts, given the existence of the new IRS Whistleblower rewards.
IRS Commissioner Frank Ng described to Congress the “critical importance to tax administration in this country — the practice of sheltering U.S. earned income in foreign jurisdictions as a means of avoiding U.S. taxation.”
He identified as “Tier I” issues the following transactions::
(more…)We understand the uncertainty that comes with legal issues. Our attorneys are here to guide you every step of the way — from the first consultation to courtroom resolution (if that becomes necessary). We offer confidential, no-obligation case evaluations.
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