Recent Articles

Treasury Department Announces TARP Investment in GMAC

December 30, 2008 15:06

The TARP bailout funding continues, as the Treasury Department announced today that it will buy $5 billion in senior preferred equity with an 8% dividend from GMAC LLC. Senator Charles Grassley has emphasized that TARP and other "bailout" funds must...The TARP bailout funding continues, as the...

KPMG Tax Shelter Fraud Trial Ends With Three Tax Evasion Convictions for Accountants and Lawyer

December 19, 2008 00:37

Fraudulent tax shelters continue to be a target not only of IRS Whistleblower claims, but also of enforcement actions. We have followed closely the KPMG tax shelter fraud case in this whistleblower lawyer blog. The trial of four defendants... Fraudulent tax shelters continue to be a target not only...

Qui Tam Whistleblower Recoveries under False Claims Acts (Federal and State) in 2008

December 16, 2008 23:11

Some recent significant recoveries under the False Claims Act--the nation's primary tool for fighting fraud and false claims--are summarized below. This summary is part of a paper I submitted in connection with serving on the faculty (with some excellent attorneys)...Some recent significant...

Whistleblowers, TARP, and Other Wall Street "Bailout" Measures--Why the False Claims Act and IRS Whistleblower Program Are More Essential Than Ever

December 09, 2008 16:31

On the same grey November day when President Bush visited Wall Street's Federal Hall to address the ever-morphing "bailout," I was in lower Manhattan meeting with IRS officials about an IRS Whistleblower matter. The tax evasion scheme we discussed was...On the same grey November day when President...

Pharmaceutical Industry Hit by Layoffs

December 08, 2008 12:27

The country's ongoing economic distress has produced layoffs in many industries, and pharma appears to be feeling the pain as well. Recent layoffs reported in the drug industry include Sanofi (650 sales reps);Novartis (550 U.S. salespersons);Merck (8,000); Wyeth (2,440); GSK...The country's ongoing...

Offshore Tax Evasion Investigations by IRS and Justice Department Expand, As IRS Whistleblowers Continue to Come Forward

December 07, 2008 19:14

The Justice Department has announced that its investigation of offshore tax evasion will expand to include Europe's largest bank, HSBC in London, and Credit Suisse in Zurich. The increasing scrutiny of illegal offshore tax schemes comes as the Wall Street...The Justice Department has announced that...

Justice Department Announces 2008 Fraud & "Qui Tam" False Claims Act Recoveries, with Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Health Care Fraud Alone Topping $1 Billion in Recoveries of Taxpayer Funds

November 11, 2008 23:58

Will Wall Street Bailout Produce the Next Round of Whistleblowers Reporting Fraud? The U.S. Department of Justice this week announced its FY 2008 recoveries in fraud and False Claims Act cases, with more than $1 billion in health care fraud...Will Wall Street Bailout Produce the Next Round of...

Tax Court Prepares for IRS Whistleblower Cases by Adopting New Proposed Amendments to Rules of Practice and Procedure

October 24, 2008 15:00

One of the hallmarks of the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards Program is that whistleblowers have an enforceable right to rewards, and can appeal the IRS Whistleblower Office's rewards decisions to the U.S. Tax Court. The Tax Court has taken a...One of the hallmarks of the new IRS Whistleblower Rewards...

IRS Addresses Deductibility of Payments by Defendants to Settle False Claims Act Cases

October 24, 2008 05:12

In our former life as lawyers defending False Claims Act cases, our defendant clients had to consider whether the payments made to settle qui tam cases under the False Claims Act were deductible for tax purposes, and to what extent....In our former life as lawyers defending False Claims Act cases,...

With Wall Street Bailout, Whistleblowers to Reveal Fraud and Abuses Through IRS Whistleblower Claims and Qui Tam False Claims Act Cases?

October 11, 2008 00:05

Will the IRS Whistleblower Program and the False Claims Act be powerful weapons in redressing the fraud and abuse that led to the current financial crisis--and to the future fraud and abuse that is certain to target the "bailout" billions...Will the IRS Whistleblower Program and the False Claims...