In the United States, whistleblowers receive a monetary reward for reporting tax fraud, provided certain conditions are met.
Here is a list of five of some of the largest rewards ever given by the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program since 2006.
1. $104 Million Settlement against Pfizer Inc. from 2008. This whistleblower received 36% of this settlement which was a total of $31,402,000 in reward money. Pfizer was charged with marketing Bextra and four other drugs for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration between 2001-2005. They were also accused of providing free goods to health care providers in exchange for increasing prescriptions of their products while these doctors received monetary kickbacks as well
2 . $41 Million Settlement against GlaxoSmithKline from 2011. This whistleblower received 18% of this settlement which was a total $8,947,760 in reward money. GSK was accused of "paying illegal remuneration" to health care providers and pharmacies in order to get them to prescribe certain medications between 2002-2007.
3 . $32 Million Settlement against KPMG from 2008. This whistleblower received 30% of this settlement which was a total of $9,544,000 in reward money. KPMG allegedly failed to pay taxes on accounts given by hedge fund clients from 2001-2004 while also failing to report said accounts as required by US law from 1996-2002.
4 . $24 Million Settlement against the Cardinal Health Pharmacy from 2009. This whistleblower received 5% of this settlement which was a total of $1,249,995 in reward money. The Cardinal Health Pharmacy was accused of "increasing drug prices for customers, charging uninsured customers more than insured customers, and billings that were not submitted to Medicare" from 2007-2009.
5 . $18 Million Settlement against the DaVita Inc. from 2014. This whistleblower received 30% of this settlement which was a total of $5,600,000 in reward money. DaVita was charged with marketing their drugs for uses other than what is approved by the FDA between 2005-2007 with false claims being submitted during that same time period as well.
The most recent investigations are said to have taken place against banks accused of fraudulent foreclosures with the IRS keeping their eyes on tax evasion schemes involving hedge fund managers, Ponzi schemes, mortgage assistance relief services, oil service companies doing business with sanctioned Iranian entities. The IRS also claims they are "aware of individuals who may have knowledge concerning offshore tax fraud" as well as those who use fraudulent tax returns to obtain child tax credits among others. All of this information is available on the official Whistleblower Reward Program website for anyone who believes that they qualify under US Code 3730(e)
If you think you know of any unlawful activities committed by banks, financial institutions or other businesses, contact us at Whistleblower International.