How Do I Know If I Am a Whistleblower?

Am I an IRS Whistleblower?

It's important to begin to determine if you might fall in the category of being an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower by asking a few questions. There are many kinds of whistleblowing, but only some particular types fall under the coverage of the IRS whistleblowing bounty statute or the New York State tax whistleblower law.

**So, the first issue is, does your concern about which you may blow the whistle, involve the Federal IRS or New York State tax law? If so, does it involve money that should have been paid in taxes? And, is the amount of money significant? That is, does it involve hundreds of thousands of dollars or, better under the federal tax law,  $ 2 million or more in unpaid federal taxes? Does the business or person who did not pay the taxes have money to pay the unpaid taxes?

**Second, do you have enough information about the wrongdoing taxpayer to be able to effectively report the tax fraud scheme? With a lawyer's help, you may be able to collect the information necessary so that you become an IRS "tipster" and file a claim that allows you to recover a reward from the IRS or State of New York if the unpaid taxes are collected. If you do decide to take action and pursue an IRS tipster claim, then you will be a whistleblower.

Tax whistleblowers are particularly useful to the Government in collecting taxes from the very wealthy and large companies. There are legitimate issues of tax evasion that the Government does not know about. But for whistleblowers, the Government will never discover these tax fraud schemes on their own. Tax whistleblowers can provide the Government with specific information about particular tax frauds that would otherwise be unlikely to be uncovered, even in a normal audit. The tax whistleblower laws, because they offer whistleblowers anonymity and a financial reward create good incentives for tax fraud to be reported and taxes collected. Our tax system depends on fairness and unless those who owe taxes pay them, the system is not fair. Whistleblowers help make our tax system and, thus, our society, better.

IRS whistleblower tax tips are confidential. Your name normally is not disclosed unless you choose to do so or in the rare case where the fraudulent taxpayer insists on taking the tax case to court--and you are called as a witness.  This rarely happens but is why it's important to have a lawyer familiar with the IRS process assisting you with IRS tax claims.

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Am I a False Claims Act Whistleblower?

To determine if you are a False Claims Act whistleblower we ask a few questions. There are many kinds of whistleblowing, but only some particular types fall under the coverage of the False Claims Act, the IRS whistleblower statute, the SEC whistleblower protection and award statute, or other federal or state whistleblower laws. In particular, False Claims Act cases brought by qui tam whistleblowers involve Federal or State Governments, but only those States that have a False Claims Act (about half do).

**So, the first issue is, does your concern about which you may blow the whistle, involve the Federal or State Government? If so, does it involve money that was paid out illegally or that should have been paid to the Government? Are there Government grants or contracts involved? For example, is Medicare or Medicaid involved? And, is the amount of money significant? That is, does it involve hundreds of thousands of dollars?

**Second, have you done anything to internally report the fraud against the Government? To alert the management of the wrongdoing? Have you done anything to report the theft of goods or services to the affected Government agency? If you have, you are a whistleblower. If you have not, but are thinking about it, if you do decide to take action, then you will be a whistleblower.

It's often wise to seek legal advice before becoming a whistleblower, especially if you are trying to protect your job and your livelihood.

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Am I an SEC Whistleblower?

It's important to begin to determine if you might fall in the category of being an SEC whistleblower by asking a few questions. There are many kinds of whistleblowing, but only some particular types will fall under the coverage of the federal SEC or Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC whistleblower claims are claims filed with the SEC that report  financial fraud by a publicly traded company. The fraud occurs when the publicly traded for-profit company (usually one traded on a public stock exchange) fails to disclose its fraudulent financial transactions to its shareholders.

**So, the first issue is, does your concern about which you may blow the whistle, involve financial fraud? If so, does it involve fraud by a publicly-traded for-profit corporation? And, is the dollar amount of money significant so that the company's omission of the information in reports to the SEC and shareholders is important, i.e., is it "material" to a shareholder?

**Second, have you done anything to internally report the fraud? Are you considering whether you should report the financial fraud by filing a claim with the SEC?  If you have, you are a whistleblower. If you have not, but are thinking about it, if you do decide to take action, then you will be a whistleblower.

SEC whistleblower claims can be filed anonymously, if you have an attorney. Your identity can remain confidential, so long as the case does not proceed to trial--and most do not. There is also an SEC whistleblower retaliation provision in the SEC whistleblower scheme, that can help protect you from job retaliation if the company perceives you as a whistleblower. As such, it's important to seek legal advice before becoming an SEC whistleblower, especially if you are trying to protect your job and your livelihood.

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Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) Whistleblowers - does the CFTC program work for whistleblowers?

Yes, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) whistleblower program works.

Financial rewards for CFTC whistleblowing are paid to whistleblowers: 

• $ 1 Million Threshold: The CFTC will pay awards to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide the CFTC with original information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act that result in enforcement actions that result in more than $1 million in monetary sanctions.

• Rewards Based on Related Actions by Other Agencies: The CFTC pays whistleblower awards when monetary sanctions are collected by other authorities in actions that are related to a CFTC enforcement action and based on information provided by a CFTC whistleblower.
• CFTC Whistleblower Awards are 10-30% of Sanctions:  The total amount of a whistleblower award will be between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected in either the CFTC action or the related action.
• Procedures must be followed carefully for filing a claim for a CFTC whistleblower award. You need not be an employee of the targetted wrongdoer, but being an insider greatly helps you and the CFTC fully understand the fraud scheme. 

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