Attorneys from across the country will gather tomorrow in Atlanta to discuss health care fraud and the 2009 amendments to the False Claims Act, the nation’s primary whistleblower statute. I am pleased to be on the panel discussing “False Claims Act Developments,” moderated by Jack Boese of Fried Frank. This…
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…
We have followed with great interest the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program, especially after the UBS settlement created fear of discovery in many U.S. taxpayers with offshore accounts. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman announced that the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program was flooded with submissions by more than 14,000 taxpayers, according to the…
Since the Madoff and Stanford schemes proved ruinous to so many investors, many have asked why the SEC has no meaningful “whistleblower” program to expose wrongdoing, a topic we have written about previously. Perhaps Harry Markopolis’ voice is finally being heard, albeit faintly. Last week, the House Financial Services Committee…
The battle against those who steal taxpayer dollars through Medicare fraud and other health care fraud took a step forward this week. The Senate is now considering the “Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act,” which will enhance the government’s tools used to investigate and remedy Medicare and Medicaid fraud. After a…
With the nation’s health care costs growing, a DOJ and HHS initiative to combat health care fraud continues to show progress. Building on past enforcement efforts, in May 2009 the government announced its Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), as part of what is now a Cabinet-level…
Defrauding the government of taxpayer dollars has gotten tougher over the past five months. Important changes to the nation’s primary anti-fraud statute, the False Claims Act, took effect on May 20, 2009, when the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 became law. Among the most significant changes, Congress clarified…
We wrote yesterday about the just-released report on the new IRS Whistleblower Program by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The “rest of the story” should be told. Some history is essential to evaluate how far the handling of whistleblower (or “informant”) claims has progressed since the newly…
Today the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”) released a Report on the IRS Whistleblower Program that urges Congress to protect IRS whistleblowers from retaliation by employers, and recommends various administrative changes to the Program. The Report’s title, “Deficiencies Exist in the Control and Timely Resolution of Whistleblower Claims,”…
The IRS Whistleblower Office has released its Annual Report to Congress, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. Some highlights are below: First, the IRS Whistleblower Program has experienced explosive growth since Congress authorized these new IRS Whistleblower rewards in December 2006. According to this Report, “the initial results…