Why Should I Become a Whistleblower? FAQ

Why Should I Become a Whistleblower?

The first reason nearly all whistleblowers report fraud is because it’s the right thing to do. If you’re deeply disturbed by something unethical or illegal that your employer or another business is engaged in, it’s only natural to want to expose that behavior. When companies defraud the government or otherwise violate the law, they should be held accountable – and whistleblowers play an indispensable role in exposing fraud and holding companies accountable.

In addition to protecting the public trust and upholding high ethical standards, if a whistleblower identifies and discloses fraud that results in a successful legal action by the government, the whistleblower may be eligible for a substantial reward.

But that’s not to say the decision to become a whistleblower is an easy one. Most whistleblowers are blowing the whistle on fraud committed by their own employer, making them extremely vulnerable to retaliation. And while internal whistleblower channels may have the appearance of being havens of confidentiality, they rarely protect the whistleblower’s identity and job security.

This is why contacting an experienced whistleblower law firm like Hagens Berman is the first thing a potential whistleblower should do when considering whether to come forward with information about fraud. Hagens Berman’s team of whistleblower attorneys is very familiar with the proper protocols that will best protect whistleblowers from retaliation and give them the best chance of success at the end of a complicated legal process. Unlike most whistleblower firms, Hagens Berman has the resources and successful track record to take on the world’s most powerful corporations and win for their clients.

Find out more about how whistleblowers are protected from employer retaliation »

Whistleblowers Protect the Public Trust

Most whistleblowers aren’t motivated by a potential payout at the end of a legal proceeding; they’re motivated by a sense of civic responsibility and outrage that their employer or another bad actor would engage in such nefarious behavior. Without whistleblowers who come forward with inside knowledge of wrongdoing, the vast majority of corporate fraud would go undetected. (You don’t have to be a current or former employee of a company to file a whistleblower claim against a company; you must only possess new information that could lead to legal action.)

One type of whistleblower exposes fraud against the government. When federal or state agencies spend taxpayer money on goods and services that aren’t provided, aren’t eligible for payment, or don’t comply with government contracts, the government loses billions of dollars. Which means taxpayers lose – after all, it’s your money that funds the government and you as a taxpayer are the one getting ripped off.

While the U.S. military helps keep civilians safe, so too do whistleblowers protect soldiers by blowing the whistle on defense contractor fraud, which served as the primary motivation for Congress to strengthen the False Claims Act in 1986. Since that time, False Claims Act (or qui tam) whistleblower lawsuits have enabled the government to recover an astonishing $64 billion in misspent funds from companies making false claims for payment to the government, especially military contractors and those who commit health care fraud.

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Whistleblowers Often Receive Large Financial Rewards

While most whistleblowers are initially motivated by a sense of justice and duty rather than money, successful whistleblower cases often result in substantial financial rewards for those who blow the whistle on fraud. Under the federal False Claims Act, SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, whistleblowers are generally eligible to receive anywhere from 10 to 30% of the amount of money recovered by the federal government in a successful legal action, often resulting in multimillion-dollar rewards.

To that end, since Congress strengthened the FCA’s provisions in 1986, federal False Claims Act whistleblowers have received more than $7.8 billion for the information they provided to the government, with more than $309 million awarded in Fiscal Year 2020 alone.

In addition to the federal statute, most states have their own versions of the False Claims Act, with similar protections and financial incentives in place to encourage whistleblowers to come forward.

Learn more about rewards for whistleblowers »

Whistleblowers Hold Corporate America Accountable

Whistleblowers are people like us who go to work each day to earn a living and play by the rules. Most whistleblowers enjoy working for the companies that employ them; but sometimes even a company you love, or once loved, is violating federal law by cheating the government, lying to shareholders or otherwise committing fraud. That company needs to be held accountable – and oftentimes whistleblowers are the only people who can blaze a trail to justice.

Fraud is serious and whistleblowers expose corporate corruption that might otherwise go unnoticed. Whether reporting on health care fraud (including Medicare fraud), securities fraud, violations of commodities regulations, tax fraud, defense contractor fraud, money laundering, or other wrongdoing, whistleblowers bravely hold corporations’ feet to the fire when they decide not to play by the rules.

When whistleblower actions are successful and companies are forced to pay for harming the public, those corporation and others are deterred from repeating such costly mistakes. And often the whistleblower is rewarded financially for their sacrifice.

Hagens Berman Successfully Represents Whistleblowers

Hagens Berman’s team of whistleblower attorneys, led by Managing Partner Steve Berman and Head of Whistleblower Practice Shayne Stevenson, has successfully represented several whistleblowers under the federal False Claims Act and similar state laws. The firm also has proven expertise and success in the area of financial fraud and maintains a robust practice under the Dodd-Frank whistleblower programs of the SEC and CFTC, having represented several successful clients under both programs.

Unlike most whistleblower practices, which lack the reputation, experience and resources to litigate whistleblower claims against some of America's biggest corporations, Hagens Berman has a record of success that includes some of the largest settlements in legal history.

How to Become a Whistleblower

If you have knowledge of fraud perpetrated against the government, or in violation of federal securities, commodities, tax, or anti-money-laundering laws, and would like to discuss becoming a whistleblower and find out more about your legal rights and protections, contact our whistleblower team at [email protected] or by filling out the secure form on this page.

Why Should I Become a Whistleblower? FAQ