Crime rarely pays. This is especially true is corporate America when a whistleblower exposes the wrongdoing. Any company found guilty of trying to defraud the government will pay the piper when caught. However, when a whistleblower is involved, according to the study done by Texas A&M University, the fines are on average 63 percent higher than if there is no whistleblower involved.
The study analyzed fraudulent acts against the U.S. government from 1978 to 2012, based on information provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.
Report co-author Nate Sharp, a Texas A&M associate professor, said the report reveals “whistleblowers have a very big effect” on a successful corporate fraud lawsuit.
Interesting factoids from the report:
- Of the incidents studied, 13 percent involved whistleblowers.
- It takes longer to get through a qui tam investigation when a whistleblower is involved. (About 10 months longer to conclude whistleblower cases than cases without whistleblowers.)
- People found guilty in cases involving whistleblowers got much longer jail terms (almost 2 ½ times longer) than cases where no whistleblower was involved.
Any person or company that tries to fraudulently bill NJ or any federal agency in an effort to defraud the government is committing a crime. Anyone who finds out about the fraud and chooses to report it is known as a “whistleblower.”
Whistleblowers are legal protected by the law. If someone attempts to retaliate (i.e.: a boss demoting or firing someone who “blows the whistle), the employee can take legal action against them. If your employer or someone else tries to retaliate against you for bringing the fraud to light, a skilled whistleblower lawyer can ask a judge to enforce the protections under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). This may mean your financial award will be even greater.
Whistleblowers are financially compensated if the case is successful. The chances of a successful case increases exponentially when you have an experienced whistleblower claim lawyer on your side. You need an attorney who knows false claim and Qui Tam laws. You need someone who will fight for your rights. For example,
When it comes to representing whistleblowers, not all lawyers are equal. Begelman & Orlow, P. C. of Cherry Hill, NJ, has senior partners who are focused exclusively on whistleblower cases. Contact us today. We’ll discuss your claims and figure out the best way to proceed to uncover the fraud and get you compensated for your information.