What is a Whistleblower?

A whistleblower is someone who sheds light on new information involving fraud and other illegal or unethical activities. Under federal and state whistleblower programs that reward whistleblowers, these activities concern fraud committed against the government, consumers, or investors.

Some whistleblowers wish to go public; most whistleblowers do not. Hagens Berman’s expert team of whistleblower attorneys works to keep whistleblowers anonymous and protected from retaliation by their employers and others when they come forward with valuable information about wrongdoing. Many whistleblower lawsuits stem from employees providing information about fraud involving the companies they work for, but people with information about corporate malfeasance – whistleblowers – are permitted to file qui tam lawsuits whether they work for the alleged offender or not.

Though becoming a whistleblower is not a simple undertaking or something to take lightly, speaking with an experienced attorney to understand the pros and cons of proceeding down the path of a whistleblower is the best thing a potential whistleblower can do. Successful whistleblowers are often awarded millions of dollars for bravely coming forward and intelligently presenting original, specific, credible information regarding fraud. To protect oneself and maximize chances of a reward, a whistleblower should seek out representation from a law firm with considerable resources and a record of success in whistleblower cases—that law firm is Hagens Berman.

HAGENS BERMAN’S WHISTLEBLOWER REPRESENTATION

Hagens Berman has an unmatched track record as a whistleblower law firm, successfully representing individuals who have exposed fraud committed against the government under the False Claims Act, and violations of the Securities Exchange Act and the Commodities Exchange Act under the Dodd-Frank whistleblower programs, as well as tax fraud under the IRS program.

Most of our cases remain confidential, but some have been in the public eye following the culmination of the case and settlement or judgment with the defendant in the case.

Industry whistleblowers forced Big Tobacco to acknowledge its role in subjecting addicted consumers to heightened risks of cancer, leading to a record $206 billion settlement that Hagens Berman managing partner Steve Berman helped litigate on behalf of several states. Still the largest settlement in U.S. history, whistleblower information in the tobacco litigation set a standard for what a brave whistleblower can do to fight corporate abuse. More recently, in one of the first and most successful SEC whistleblower cases under the Dodd-Frank Act, Hagens Berman represented Wall Street veteran and leading algorithmic trading expert, Haim Bodek, in his complaint against BATS Global Inc./Direct Edge Holdings (the third-largest U.S. exchange), challenging the unlawful, preferential treatment it gave certain high-frequency trading companies. This groundbreaking case resulted in the largest SEC fine ever imposed on a U.S. financial exchange and a reward for our client. We subsequently represented a whistleblower action in a case challenging the New York Stock Exchange, an action which resulted in a record-tying settlement with the SEC and the exchange.

In the most prominent CFTC whistleblower case since the program began, Hagens Berman represented the anonymous whistleblower who identified a previously undetected cause of the infamous 2010 “Flash Crash,” in which a rogue London trader contributed to the largest instantaneous drop in financial markets to date. This whistleblower action resulted in the first-ever Department of Justice prosecution and guilty plea following extradition of a foreign market manipulator. Our client was rewarded for this action, which also became a best-selling book “Flash Crash” by Bloomberg reporter Liam Vaughn, who profiled our anonymous client. Hagens Berman more recently represented a successful whistleblower in an action against the largest privately held company in the U.S., which resulted in a significant fine by the CFTC and a reward for our client.

Hagens Berman also represented whistleblower Kyle Lagow, whose exposure of a home appraisal-fixing scheme during the mortgage crisis of the late 2000s resulted in a $1 billion settlement between Bank of America and the DOJ. This marked the second largest settlement in government history, and Lagow personally received a significant whistleblower reward for coming forward. In another False Claims Act whistleblower case, Hagens Berman represented the senior medical director at US WorldMeds, who accused his company of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute by making illegal payments to medical providers in exchange for giving preferential promotional treatment to their products.

In a prominent case involving health care fraud, Hagens Berman represented Dr. Marshall Horwitz, who blew his whistle on the pharmaceutical kingpin Amgen for manipulating scientific data in order to sell two of its drugs for off-label use. This led federal Medicare and state Medicaid programs to spend large amounts of money covering prescriptions for conditions that the drugs, Aranesp and Neulasta, weren't approved to treat. The Department of Justice eventually levied $762 million in civil and criminal penalties against Amgen. Again, our client was generously rewarded for his efforts.

Hagens Berman has also litigated qui tam whistleblower cases against medical-industry powerhouses like Pfizer and Medtronic. And when the government declined to pursue a complex Medicare-fraud case exposed by health care finance expert Anthony Kite against several large hospitals, Hagens Berman litigated the action privately, securing a multimillion-dollar award for Kite.

HAGENS BERMAN REPRESENTS WHISTLEBLOWERS

Hagens Berman’s seasoned team of whistleblower attorneys has the track record, reputation and knowledge to advocate for whistleblowers in ways other firms do not. Unlike smaller whistleblower law firms, Hagens Berman has more than 80 attorneys worldwide tackling cases involving corporate fraud and other misdeeds, giving us the resources and expertise necessary to take on a broad range of whistleblower cases. And our reputation with the government is second-to-none.

HOW TO BECOME A WHISTLEBLOWER

If you have knowledge of fraud committed against the government, tax fraud, securities fraud, or a violation of the Commodities Exchange Act and would like to consider becoming a whistleblower and discuss your legal rights and protections, contact our whistleblower team at [email protected] or by filling out the secure form on this page.