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…
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…
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…
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…
After meeting with the Department of Justice in Washington recently to discuss another whistleblower case, I picked up Harry Markopolos’ recent book, “No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller.” It is a fun and engrossing read, with humor that I did not expect to find in this subject. We…
One of the most interesting and challenging issues in representing IRS whistleblowers is how this promising new IRS Whistleblower Program can co-exist with the limits Congress has imposed on disclosure of taxpayer information–which includes what the IRS does in pursuing claims brought by whistleblowers. I wanted to pass along that…
We have written about the highly successful 2009 IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp in Washington, D.C. The IRS Whistleblower Office gathered with attorneys representing whistleblowers for this conference to discuss in detail many of the issues that arise in representing IRS whistleblowers, persons who report tax fraud or tax noncompliance. This…
Since Congress authorized new awards to IRS whistleblowers in December 2006, we have followed closely the progress of the new IRS Whistleblower Office led by Director Stephen Whitlock. IRS Whistleblower Office Director Stephen Whitlock has just announced that the IRS Whistleblower Office is preparing to make award determinations on whistleblower…
How does the IRS treat whistleblowers who receive awards under the False Claims Act’s “qui tam” provisions, which allow private citizens who expose fraud to share in the government’s recovery of money? The Tax Court this week addressed that question. It held that awards to whistleblowers or “relators” are part…
In “Protecting Whistleblowers from Criminal Prosecution,” we expressed our amazement at how UBS “whistleblower” Brad Birkenfeld got himself prosecuted for a federal felony while attempting to set himself up for rewards through the new IRS Whistleblower Program. Birkenfeld’s case is highlighted in recent articles by Lynnley Browning in Friday’s New…