Whistleblowers are heroes. Probably the most famous whistleblower in recent years was Jeffrey Wigand, whose story became the movie “The Insider” where he was played by Russell Crowe. Mr. Wigand revealed the cigarette industry’s secret knowledge of the health issues caused by smoking. More recently, whistleblowers have exposed problems within VA hospitals that have led to the deaths of veterans.
Whistleblowers Expose Illegal Actions by Employers
Most whistleblowers never become famous or have themselves portrayed in a movie by a famous actor or actress. More typically, a whistleblower could work in a doctor’s office and discover that the doctor is overbilling Social Security for services not provided. A patient could go for a simple checkup and the bill to the government could be for many thousands of dollars for MRI tests and expensive procedures that the patient didn’t need and didn’t receive. This is illegal.
The Government Recognizes the Value of Whistleblowers
In these cases, the government is entitled to pursue a claim against the employer – the doctor – for the money that was lost. If the employer should retaliate against the whistleblowing employee, the employee has the right to also file a lawsuit against the doctor. If the government recovers money lost because of the employer, the employee is entitled to a share ranging from 15% to 30%, depending upon the situation. The government recognizes that without whistleblowers, most of these cases would never come to light and the illegal activities would continue, harming everyone in one way or another.
Whistleblowers perform a valuable service to society. When a whistleblower discovers a serious problem such as fraud against the government, they worry about what to do. Their next step may be consulting a whistleblower lawyer for advice. That’s a reasonable action to take. No one ever expects to find themselves in this situation.
Every day, the government is defrauded. No one knows how much is lost every year, but it’s probably many billions of dollars of taxpayers money. In effect, those committing these crimes are stealing from everyone.
Is your employer stealing from the government in some way? Edwards & Bullard Law is familiar with this type of case and can advise you of your rights. Don’t lay awake at night worrying. Talk to an experienced whistleblower lawyer as to how to proceed. Call today for a free, confidential consultation. You can also connect them on Facebook for more updates.
