Whistleblower

Berman Tabacco Has Obtained Over $50 million in Awards For Our Whistleblower Clients.

Fraud occurs every day in corporate America, causing employees, employers, shareholders, and the government serious harm.  From executives hiding behind accounting scams, to healthcare companies cheating the Medicare system, fraud permeates all sectors and there is seemingly no limit to the creativity of those who wish to game the system.  And each new era brings new versions of old scams.  Yesterday’s Ponzi schemer is today’s crowdfunder improperly promoting initial coin offerings.

No matter how widespread financial fraud may be, it is also particularly hard to detect.  It often requires brave individuals who encounter such fraud and abuse to step up and report wrongdoing to the appropriate authorities.

At Berman Tabacco, we help whistleblowers report financial malfeasance.  Today, there are various channels whistleblowers may pursue, through programs set up by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”).  In addition, we assist whistleblowers in rooting out fraud against the government through litigation brought pursuant to federal and state false claims acts, commonly known as qui tam cases.

In appropriate cases, whistleblowers are entitled to significant financial rewards and protection from employer retaliation.  For example, the SEC has awarded over $1 billion to SEC whistleblowers since the program’s inception in 2011, including over $50 million to Berman Tabacco clients in the then-second largest award in the SEC’s whistleblower program’s history.  We work tirelessly to ensure that our clients receive the full benefit of these incentives, because they deserve nothing less.

Berman Tabacco is well-positioned to assist whistleblowers.  We draw on our decades of experience in investigating and litigating securities fraud cases to help whistleblowers navigate the complex legal and factual landscape.  We pride ourselves on our reputation for submitting only the most credible cases to the authorities.  We also serve as a buffer for our clients who hope to remain anonymous during the process.  And we guide our clients through each step in the process, from our initial evaluation of their claim through an application for a monetary award. Work with the whistleblower lawyers at Berman Tabacco today, from SEC to IRS whistleblowing to qui tam and the federal false claims action, we have you covered.

What Types of Securities Fraud Do Whistleblowers Report?

The SEC Whistleblower Program covers all types of securities fraud, which is any act of deceiving the public in connection with the purchase or sale of a security. Some examples include:

• Ponzi schemes
• False statements to the public Accounting frauds
• Front running Insider Trading
• Pump-and-dump schemes
• ICO or cryptocurrency schemes

At Berman Tabacco, our whistbleblower attorneys have experience pursuing claims against all manner of securities fraud, whether in the class- action realm or whistleblower arena.

Who Can Be an SEC Whistleblower?

• An SEC Whistleblower is any person, both U.S. residents and non-U.S. citizens, who voluntarily provides original information about federal securities law violations. The whistleblower’s information must lead to a successful SEC action that results in monetary sanctions over $1 million. Whistleblowers can be company insiders or any individual with knowledge of wrongdoing, including industry experts or any concerned individual.
• There are numerous complexities in the SEC’s Whistleblower Rules, and failure to comply may result in missing out on an award, so it is important to have veteran whistleblower lawyers on your side to help navigate the process.

What Monetary Awards Are Available to SEC Whistleblowers?

• A whistleblower who provides original information that leads to a successful SEC enforcement action can be awarded between 10-30% of monetary sanctions if the SEC recovers over $1 million.

How Can Whistleblowers Remain Anonymous?

• If an attorney properly submits a whistleblower’s information, a whistleblower can remain anonymous. The whistleblower’s attorney will communicate with the SEC behalf of the whistleblower. The whistleblower’s communications with his or her attorney are confidential and protected by the attorney-client privilege.

What Types of Fraud Do CFTC Whistleblowers Report?

The CFTC Whistleblower Program covers all types of fraud related to the Commodities Exchange Report and CFTC Regulations. These violations can include fraudulent activity related to commodity futures, option trading, derivatives markets or currency fraud.

Other fraudulent violations can include Ponzi schemes, false advertising, market manipulation and the manipulation of customer accounts.

Who Can Be a CFTC Whistleblower?

A CFTC Whistleblower is any person, both U.S. residents and non-U.S. citizens, who voluntarily provides original information about a violation of the Commodities Exchange Act or a CFTC regulation. The whistleblower’s information must lead to a successful CFTC action that results in monetary sanctions over $1 million.

CFTC Whistleblowers can be company insiders or any individual with knowledge of wrongdoing, including industry  experts or any concerned individual.

The IRS Whistleblower Program allows a whistleblower to receive an award if the whistleblower presents specific and credible information about a tax fraud that leads the IRS to collect an amount over $2 million from an entity (such as a corporation) or an individual with a gross income of $200,000 for the relevant tax period.

If these criteria are fulfilled, the IRS whistleblower can recover between 15- 30% of the collected proceeds, including penalties, interest, additions to tax and other amounts.

Each year the U.S. government spends billions of dollars to pay businesses and other third parties who file false and fraudulent claims for payment to the U.S. government and state governments. Without the help of whistleblowers, these frauds would often go unnoticed. Such frauds include:

• Health care fraud (Medicare/Medicaid fraud)
• Construction fraud
• Military contracting fraud

The FCA allows private whistleblowers to sue companies and individuals that defraud the government. An FCA, or qui tam, lawsuit is filed under seal and investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Certain states of similar statutes that allow private whistleblowers to bring actions or claims on behalf of states. These cases take time and expertise to prepare and litigate, and Berman Tabacco has the ability and resources to take on this type of challenging litigation.

To reward the whistleblower, the government can award between 15 and 30 percent of the government’s overall recovery. An FCA whistleblower can seek damages for retaliation including reinstatement with the same seniority status, twice the amount of back pay with interest, and compensation for any special damages  sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

Berman Tabacco’s whistleblower attorneys have the resources and expertise to litigate FCA whistleblower actions efficiently and effectively.  In recent years, Berman Tabacco’s whistleblower attorneys have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of the U.S. government and secured significant relator share percentages for our clients.