Kirby McInerney has more than six decades of experience litigating cases involving corporate integrity and financial fraud, and has obtained major awards for clients, including the largest-ever individual commodities award – nearly $200 million – and the largest-ever settlement of a tax whistleblower case under the New York False Claims Act – $105 million. Our attorneys leverage their knowledge and experience to protect the interests of our whistleblower clients and guide them through every step of the process.
The CFTC, SEC, and many states offer major financial incentives to whistleblowers who come forward with information concerning frauds committed against the government or against investors. The SEC and the CFTC award whistleblowers 10% to 30% of monetary sanctions resulting from the information provided, and whistleblowers are further compensated if related actions are brought by state regulators.
A whistleblower can be anyone with useful knowledge or information that the government or investors have been victimized by false or fraudulent conduct. For example, they can be “insiders” who work or worked for a company that engaged in fraudulent conduct, or they can be “outsiders” who became aware of the violation. They all promote essential fairness to ensure that tax dollars are spent as planned and keep securities issuers honest by making sure that false statements to investors are remedied. They buttress the often-stretched resources of the government to keep up with fraudsters and protect the interests of people who play by the rules.
If you have information regarding fraud against the government or fraud involving securities and commodities, or if you have knowledge of other suspicious activity that may give rise to a whistleblower claim, contact us by filling out and submitting the form below or by calling our dedicated whistleblower line at 212-699-1160 to receive a free confidential claims evaluation.
Resources for Whistleblowers
Click on the table below to learn more about laws and programs specific to your situation.
KM represented the whistleblower who received nearly $200 million, the largest CFTC whistleblower award ever and the second largest whistleblower award arising under the Dodd-Frank and IRS whistleblower programs. The information the whistleblower provided catalyzed investigations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a U.S. federal regulator, and a foreign regulator into the manipulation of crucial financial benchmarks used by global banks as the basis for the pricing of fixed income securities and derivative products. The CFTC initially rejected the whistleblower’s award application, but KM's advocacy resulted in a successful appeal for the client.
KM procured the largest-ever settlement of an income tax whistleblower case under the New York False Claims Act – $105 million – through our representation of a whistleblower against hedge fund billionaire Thomas Sandell and Sandell Asset Management Corporation alleging they submitted false New York tax returns that failed to count more than $450 million as New York-taxable income, causing them to underpay New York taxes by more than $50 million. Our client received award of 21% of the $105 million recovery.
We obtained an $8.5 million award – the largest-ever settlement in a declined New York State False Claims Act case – for a whistleblower in a groundbreaking case against Moody's and others under the New York State False Claims Act. The litigation brought to light a multi-year, multi-million-dollar tax fraud scheme executed by Moody’s and its consultants wherein the company repeatedly underpaid city and state taxes by maintaining a sham insurance corporation as a subsidiary. KM was successful both before the trial court as well as on appeal before the New York City First Department. Our client received an award of 30% of the $8.5 million recovery.
Representation of a whistleblower who alleges that waste-to-energy plant operator Covanta violated environmental regulations by creating hazardous ash as a by-product of the burning of garbage from multiple Long Island towns. The case has been brought on behalf of New York State, certain local governments on Long Island, and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). Over the course of a decade, these local governments paid $890 million to Covanta to take their communities’ garbage in an environmentally safe way. As alleged, Covanta did not, in fact, abide by the necessary protocols to keep the ash that was dumped in the Brookhaven landfill from being hazardous.
Representation of a whistleblower under New York’s False Claims Act alleging that J.P. Morgan Chase failed to calculate and pay required interest on past due unclaimed property reporting to New York’s Office of the State Comptroller.
KM represents the whistleblower in the healthcare kickbacks case where the government intervened in the case and is pursuing criminal kickback charges against radiology businesses and their owner.
Representation of a whistleblower in a New York State False Claims Act case alleging that a spa business in Queens underpaid taxes by employing fraudulent schemes to manipulate its revenues and to pay employees in cash and off the books. The case resulted in a settlement of $2.5 million, with a 23% whistleblower award, as well as criminal tax fraud convictions. Our client received an award of 23% of the $2.5 million recovery.
Representation of a whistleblower in a healthcare action under the federal and New York State False Claims Acts against Gramercy Cardiac Diagnostic Services P.C. and its owner. The complaint alleged that defendants violated the federal and New York State False Claims Acts by engaging in a wide-ranging kickback scheme to pay large numbers of doctors for referring patients to their radiology business. The case resulted in a settlement of $6.5 million.
Representation of a whistleblower in a case brought under the federal False Claims Act. Our client alleged that defendants submitted false customs declarations under-reporting the value of imports from China and Madagascar, thereby cheating the government of duties. The case resulted in the repayment to the government of $1.5 million, of which our client was awarded 20%.
Representation of the whistleblower in a case brought under the federal False Claims Act alleging that defendants, a Hong-Kong based jewelry manufacturer and its affiliates, engaged in a decade-long customs fraud scheme. Specifically, defendants submitted false customs declarations and invoices that under-reported the value of imported goods, artificially deflating required customs duties. Defendants maintained separate invoices reflecting the goods' correct value in their private records. The case resulted in the repayment to the government of $3.85 million, of which our client was awarded 19%.
Representation of a whistleblower against FPR Specialty Pharmacy, a compounding pharmacy, and affiliates in United States ex rel. Doe v. FPR Specialty Pharmacy LLC, alleging they had fraudulently billed government health care plans, including Medicare and Tricare, for millions of dollars for defendants’ tubes of “Focused Pain Relief” pain cream that they sold for up to $2,000 a tube. The matter resulted in a settlement, 21% of which our client received as their whistleblower award.
A.Anyone with reliable, useful information about fraud committed against the government or investors might be a whistleblower. Whistleblowers can be insiders or outsiders, and high executives or entry-level employees. What matters most is the quality of their information. Kirby McInerney’s whistleblower team can evaluate your claim and help you decide whether to file a whistleblower claim.
A.Kirby McInerney is experienced in each of the primary programs available to whistleblowers: (1) the federal and state False Claims Acts, which allow whistleblowers to file lawsuits on behalf of the government to seek recoveries from frauds committed against the government; (2) the IRS whistleblower program, which allows whistleblowers to report federal tax violations, including non-fraudulent underpayments; (3) the SEC whistleblower program, which allows whistleblowers to report violations of the securities laws; and (4) the CFTC whistleblower program, which relates to reporting violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
A.There are two main avenues to report tax violations. For federal tax violations, a whistleblower can file a claim with the IRS whistleblower program. Those claims can be about any type of federal tax violation, in any amount, even if the violations were made by mistake. Some states and the District of Columbia allow tax frauds to be raised under their False Claims Acts. New York State’s False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to bring claims about large tax frauds that have harmed the state or local governments in New York. Washington, DC allows similar claims. Illinois’ False Claims Act allows claims about sales tax and some other tax violations. Several other states also permit tax whistleblower cases.
A.You should discuss with counsel the pros and cons of being a whistleblower in light of the claims you wish to raise. Some items to consider are the strength and value of the claims, the extent to which the available whistleblower programs allow for your anonymity, any involvement you may have had in the misconduct, the length of time the claims may be pending, and the potential for retaliation.
A.The best whistleblower claims lay out reliable evidence that demonstrates the defendant’s liability. While that evidence will be different in each case, you should put yourself in the shoes of a government investigator and ask how you would use the evidence you have and how you would collect additional evidence to win the case. You should discuss your claims with experienced counsel to evaluate their strength.
A.You should move quickly to find out if you have a good whistleblower claim. Most claims are subject to statutes of limitations, some of which are quite short. You should consult with experienced counsel right away to discuss which whistleblower programs might apply and what the timing considerations are.
A.You should speak to experienced counsel about the claims before disclosing them to anyone else. Several whistleblower programs have rules limiting claims that were publicly disclosed before the whistleblower submissions are made, and some have rules about maintaining the confidentiality of the claims once they are filed.
A.Generally, a whistleblower whose claim is successful can receive an award of between 15% to 30% of the government’s or investors’ monetary recovery as a result of the claims. Note that there are some variations in the percentage awards in different whistleblower programs.
A.Under the False Claims Act, a whistleblower can proceed with claims that the government declines. If successful, the whistleblower will generally receive an award of between 25% and 30% of the government’s monetary recovery (as compared to an award of 15% to 25% where the government intervenes). The other major whistleblower programs do not allow for the whistleblower to continue a case that the government chooses not to pursue.
A.The answer depends on which whistleblower program you are in. The SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs allow whistleblowers represented by counsel to submit claims without disclosing their names, and the programs promise a high degree of confidentiality even when the whistleblower’s name is disclosed. The IRS whistleblower program requires that the whistleblower be identified to the IRS, but the IRS also promises a high degree of confidentiality. For whistleblower claims under the False Claims Act, the cases are filed under seal, but a whistleblower should expect that his or her name will eventually be disclosed.
A.Whistleblower claims can take a long time, often several years, while the government investigates and potentially pursues the claims. Depending upon which whistleblower program the claim is made under, the whistleblower may or may not be given substantive information about the government’s progress on the claims.
A.The whistleblower lawyer is going to be the person who advocates for your claim to the government investigators, often for several years, and potentially pursues False Claims Act claims if the government turns the case down and you choose to continue with the claims. You should consider hiring an attorney with whom you are comfortable, and who has experience analyzing, presenting, and pursuing whistleblower claims.
A.We represent whistleblowers on a contingency fee basis. That means that we will be paid only if the case results in a recovery. We will set out the terms of our fees in a written engagement agreement with you.
* These "Frequently Asked Questions" are provided by Kirby McInerney LLP for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be construed as legal advice.
NEW YORK - Partner David Kovel commented to the Wall Street Journal in support of a new pilot whistleblower program launched on August 6 by the U.S. Department of Justice. The program is intended to bridge gaps left between similar, existing incentive programs overseen by other agencies.
KM Partner Randall Fox was quoted today by Tax Notes in an article discussing the District of Columbia’s settlement of its first tax whistleblower lawsuit. The suit has resulted in a $40 million settlement with tech billionaire Michael Saylor and his company MicroStrategy Inc. The lawsuit alleges that Saylor failed to pay $25 million in resident income taxes to the District over the course of several years by making false claims that he did not live in the District.
Co-Managing Partner David Kovel and Associate Lauren Wands have published an article entitled “CFTC Whistleblowers: Legal Perils and Pitfalls” in the May 2024 issue of the Futures and Derivatives Law Report, a newsletter which analyzes legal developments in over-the-counter derivatives, futures, and option trading, and includes information on regulation, legislation, and litigation.
David Kovel was quoted today in a Wall Street Journal article discussing the increasing popularity and success of whistleblower programs both in the United States and internationally. “There seems to be a growing recognition that these programs work, if whistleblowers are paid,” he noted.
Tax violations have received unique treatment in the whistleblower world. The federal government’s primary whistleblower statute, the False Claims Act, bars cases alleging violations of federal tax laws. Only in 2006 did Congress provide for the creation of an agency-based tax whistleblower program, administered within the Internal Revenue Service, in an effort to collect unpaid taxes.
Newsday has published an article covering the results of a New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) probe, initiated in 2021, concerning the conduct of Covanta, a waste incineration company, at its Brookhaven landfill in Westbury, Long Island between 2007 and 2013. The probe, which was initiated further to a case brought by KM whistleblower client Patrick Fahey and, later, a Newsday investigation of the alleged conduct, found that the company had indeed repeatedly violated environmental law.
Using information first disclosed to the government in a case filed by Kirby McInerney, the New York Attorney General has won the criminal conviction of Long Island doctor Payam Toobian and his radiology business America’s Imaging Center. In the Attorney General’s prosecution, the jury returned guilty verdicts on most of the criminal counts against Toobian and his company, including counts concerning healthcare fraud, falsifying business records, and paying kickbacks to physicians to get them to refer patients to Toobian’s radiology business.
Newsday has published an investigation, relying heavily on documents filed in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by KM-client and former Covanta maintenance employee Patrick Fahey against Covanta Hempstead, Long Island’s leading waste incinerator, which has been dumping ash at the Long Island’s Brookhaven landfill for years. As Newsday reports, for nearly a decade, the company couldn’t be certain that the ash they were dumping at Brookhaven landfill was nonhazardous and engaged in risky and imprecise practices.
KM Partner Randall Fox is quoted in a Law360 article discussing the recent expansion of tax-related whistleblower cases under the New York False Claims Act, now allowing for cases to be brought against wealthy individuals and businesses that do not file New York tax returns and pay New York taxes they owe. Previously, such non-filers could escape liability because the statute applied only where a whistleblower could point to specific false statements or records related to tax obligations.
Fox described that the importance of the amendment is that it will lead to enforcement against non-filers who are notoriously difficult to find through the traditional audit process: “if tax audits are akin to finding a needle in a haystack, ‘here, you don’t even have a haystack.’”
KM partner Randall Fox has published an article in Law360 discussing how New York has already decided an important issue about the “knowledge” element of the False Claims Act that will be argued next month before the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Sprint case under the New York False Claims Act, New York’s high court ruled in 2015 that the knowledge element depends upon a defendant’s contemporaneous understanding of the applicable rules. In the cases now before the Supreme Court, the defendants are arguing that they can instead rely on interpretations asserted for the first time after the False Claims Act case was filed.
The crypto space has seen a lot of publicity these days. The catastrophe which is the FTX bankruptcy highlights the cryptocurrency market’s susceptibility to fraud given its unregulated nature, and the fact that much of it is ostensibly overseas and otherwise opaque in its mechanics. In the face of this, investors are susceptible to exploitation and losses. In the case of FTX, investors and creditors are owed billions of dollars according to initial filings in the bankruptcy proceedings. FTX may be just the start of things.
Co-Managing Partner David Kovel spoke at the 22nd annual Coalition of Civil Advocates conference on Friday, November 11, 2022. The event was an informal plaintiff’s lawyer convention hosted by the Louisiana-based litigation team at Fishman Haygood.
Co-Managing Partner David Kovel recently spoke at the 22nd annual Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF) conference on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. TAF is a non-profit, public interest organization committed to supporting and encouraging whistleblowers who reveal fraud in government and financial markets.
In a September article, KM partner Randall Fox is quoted sharing his expertise on tax whistleblower cases. Mr. Fox’s comments are included in an article in Tax Notes written by Andrea Muse regarding the first publicly-disclosed case filed under Washington D.C.’s False Claims Act (FCA).
New York Attorney General Letitia James is pursuing criminal charges that were first brought to light by a False Claims Act lawsuit filed by Kirby McInerney partner Randall Fox on behalf of a whistleblower client against a Queens, New York radiologist and his company.
Partner Randall Fox spoke as a panelist during the Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section Roundtable on Wednesday, July 27th, 2022. Mr. Fox was joined by Andrea Fischer, Robert Gardner, Michelle Merola, and Richard Neuworth as they discussed Tax Whistleblowing at the Federal and State Level.
?Partner Randall Fox discussed with Law360 New York lawmakers' recent passage of an amendment to the New York False Claims Act to close a loophole in the state’s tax whistleblower law by permitting actions against corporations and wealthy individuals who knowingly fail to file New York tax returns.
Kirby McInerney LLP has added Anthony F. Fata, a leading plaintiffs’ litigator in commodities, securities, and whistleblower matters, as a partner in the firm’s new Chicago office.
Kirby McInerney announces that its whistleblower client has been awarded nearly $200 million by the whistleblower program of the CFTC. Today’s award is the largest publicly announced single whistleblower award arising under the Dodd-Frank whistleblower reward programs (the CFTC and SEC) as well as under other whistleblower programs including the IRS and the federal and state false claims acts.
The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP is pleased to announce that partner Randall Fox has been named the 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (“TAFEF”), which is the leading public advocacy group for whistleblowers.
Bloomberg Tax reported on a whistleblower case filed by Kirby McInerney LLP in an article by reporter Michael Bologna entitled “New York Said to Be Cheated of Millions in Tax by Headhunter.” The article can be found here.
The New York Legislature passed a bill that would expand the state's False Claims Act to hold taxpayers liable for failing to file state returns, as opposed to only for providing false records.
A New York Senate committee advanced a bill that would expand the state's False Claims Act to hold taxpayers liable for failing to file state returns, as opposed to only for providing false records.
Maryland residents who suspect tax fraud would be able to tip off the state tax agency and receive a monetary reward if the agency recovered money, in an IRS-like program approved by state lawmakers and sent to the state's governor.
In 2010, New York amended its False Claims Act to enable whistleblowers to sue individual and corporate defendants with a net income or sales exceeding $1 million that cheated on their taxes in excess of $350,000. Other states are considering similar legislation. Randall Fox of Kirby McInerney LLP debunks some common fallacies regarding the New York law.
The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP announced today a $105 million settlement in a case the firm filed on behalf of its whistleblower client against hedge fund billionaire Thomas Sandell and his business Sandell Asset Management Corporation. The settlement is the largest income tax recovery under the New York False Claims Act.
Wars and disasters generally bring forth the best in people – courage, heroism, solidarity. Unfortunately, however, calamities also present irresistible opportunities for corruption and fraud among those who would take advantage. Now, it is feared that the massive government spending that is being deployed to fight the coronavirus pandemic may spur new exploitative schemes, potentially diverting billions of dollars of government funds intended to help virus victims and stimulate the economy into the pockets of scammers.
Kirby McInerney LLP has settled a significant False Claims Act case on behalf of a whistleblower client against a compounding pharmacy FPR Specialty Pharmacy, its owners Christopher Casey and Billy Rue, and affiliated business Mead Square Pharmacy, all from the Rochester, New York area.
Kirby McInerney Partner Randall Fox was quoted in this Bloomberg Tax article about tax-related false claims suits. California, Michigan, and the District of Columbia are considering bills that add tax code violations to the list of actionable frauds coming under their false claims laws. Mr. Fox notes that New York’s tax whistleblower law has resulted in “very stong and important cases.”
Unclaimed property operations and compliance managers at US financial firms will soon find out that the task is more difficult than they thought should JP Morgan Chase lose its appeal of a New York civil court judge’s ruling about the bank’s required interest payment on unclaimed accounts reported late to New York State.
Moody’s has reached a settlement with New York-based law firm Kirby McInerney after it was accused of underpaying New York State and New York City business taxes between 2002 and 2014. Moody’s is alleged to have mischaracterised its income as premiums to its captive, Moody’s Assurance Company (MAC).
Kirby McInerney Partner Randall Fox represents a whistleblower client in a case against JPMorgan Chase alleging that Chase held $60 million worth of unclaimed assets longer than it should have, depriving the state of about $12 million in interest income over roughly two years.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. could be on the hook for millions in unpaid interest and penalties for delaying transfers of unclaimed property to the state of New York following a first-of-a-kind state court ruling.
In late December, the New York Attorney General’s Office announced that it had settled the long-running New York False Claims Act whistleblower case against cell phone giant Sprint Nextel Corporation for $330 million. It was the largest ever settlement under any state false claims act, and it invoked a provision on tax violations that other states have yet to enact. The Sprint settlement raises several important points about whistleblower cases under the New York False Claims Act.
Mobile giant Sprint Corp. will pay $330 million to resolve a New York False Claims Act suit that accused the company of shirking $100 million in state taxes, with almost $63 million of that sum going to a whistleblower, the state attorney general said Friday.
Kirby McInerney LLP has obtained a groundbreaking appellate decision against Moody’s Corporation, certain of its affiliates, and Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. under the New York State False Claims Act.
Settling with the state, Spa Castle is going to pay $2.5 million in civil damages and criminal restitution over a tax fraud scheme, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood and Acting Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Nonie Manion announced last Thursday. “This is a case where tax cheaters would have stayed under the radar had it not been for a brave whistleblower reporting on the fraud,” Randall Fox of Kirby McInerney LLP, one of the two attorneys who represented the source.
Kirby McInerney LLP has secured a $2.5 million recovery for the State of New York in a tax whistleblower action brought against the famed spa organization Spa Castle and the family that owns it. Today, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced the settlement and associated criminal pleas by defendants in the case.
Citigroup Inc. has finally put a whistleblower lawsuit behind it after a mid-level New York appeals court dismissed a case that could have cost the company $800 million in state taxes.
Eric Schneiderman’s tenure as a New York state senator and the state's attorney general changed the face of New York's False Claims Act (FCA), but practitioners say his sudden resignation is not expected to change the way the attorney general's office enforces the act.
Thanks to 2010 amendments to New York’s False Claims Act, whistleblowers can receive incentive awards of 15 to 30 percent of the government's recovery for bringing actions — called “qui tam” actions — on behalf of the government to help recover tax monies lost by fraud.
A recently leaked memo setting out circumstances for when U.S. Department of Justice attorneys should use its rarely invoked authority to ask for “meritless” qui tam False Claims Act cases to be dismissed could foreshadow a more aggressive DOJ approach to dismissals, but proof will only come from seeing its future actions, attorneys said.
(Bloomberg Law) — New York's first unsealed qui tam estate tax case has been filed by a whistleblower alleging that a deceased physician falsely claimed to reside in Florida. The whistleblower, Doreen L. Light, alleged that the estate of Dr. Myron R. Melamed owes at least $1.7 million in estate taxes to New York.
Kirby McInerney Partner Mark Strauss authored this article on a whistleblower lawsuit involving customs fraud. Federal prosecutors in New York recently announced the settlement of a remarkable lawsuit relating to a scheme to evade import duties. The case involved an importer’s undervaluation of apparel to pay less duties than were really owed.
A recent, little-noticed decision in the New York Supreme Court has confirmed that the tax provisions of New York’s False Claims Act apply not only to persons and companies that cheat on the tax returns they submit, but also to those who knowingly skirt their obligations by entirely failing to file any New York Tax returns.
Fraud-related claims usually must be pled with particularity. But in a little-noticed provision at the end of New York’s False Claims Act, Sec.192(1-a), the New York legislature provided for a lower pleading hurdle when asserting violations of New York’s FCA in state court.
Kirby McInerney Partner Mark Strauss published an article in Supply and Demand Chain Executive regarding the use of U.S. Whistleblower laws under the current administration.
Kirby McInerney Partner Mark Strauss authored the attached editorial for Global Trade Magazine regarding whistleblower law under the current administration.
In this viewpoint, Fox looks back at six years of New York tax enforcement through qui tam lawsuits. He concludes that the abuses predicted by opponents of the law have failed to materialize and that the statute, which allows tax recovery suits by private citizens, appears to have generated a good return on the investment. The full article is reproduced with permission of TaxAnalysts and is accessible on KM’s website.
Kirby McInerney LLP is pleased to announce that its client, a Hong Kong-based whistleblower, helped the U.S. government recover $1.5 million in allegedly underpaid U.S. import duties from Winds Enterprises, Inc. of California, and its affiliate, Winds Enterprises, Ltd. of Hong Kong, which manufacture and import athletic wear for popular brands in the United States.
Bloomberg BNA quoted Kirby McInerney partner Randall M. Fox, former New York Attorney General Bureau Chief, in an article addressing a high profile whistle-blower tax case against Sprint Nextel Corp. for the company’s alleged failure to collect and pay sales taxes on flat-rate calling plans, and why the plaintiffs’ bar expects more of these types of cases to be filed.
Kirby McInerney Partner Randall Fox published an article in Law360 discussing a whistleblower False Claims Act case against Sprint Corp. for failing to collect and pay more than $100 million in New York state and local sales taxes on its flat-rate monthly cell phone charges.
Partner Randall Fox made a presentation on the perspective of whistleblowers to the “False Claims and Qui Tam Seminar” put on by the CLE Committee of the Northern District of New York’s Federal Court Bar Association. Mr. Fox’s presentation addressed how whistleblowers who bring forward claims that the government was victimized by fraud can best present their cases and some of the legal issues that must be considered by whistleblower’s counsel. With his presentation, Mr. Fox circulated an outline of the disclosures that whistleblowers should make to government enforcement agents, a copy of which is available on KM’s website..
Partner Randall Fox made a presentation to the Class Action and False Claims Act Work Group of the Multistate Tax Commission, addressing the options states have for drafting laws that give incentives to citizens to report on tax frauds.
False Claims Act cases focus on situations where the government has been victimized by fraud. A whistleblower who invokes the act first presents the case to government enforcement authorities who decide either to intervene and take up the case, or decline and allow the whistleblower to proceed on the government’s behalf.
This is the final article in a series on qui tam suits. This article discusses New York’s approach to tax fraud suits, which is being heralded as a possible model for both state and federal regimes.
On June 6, 2014, Bloomberg BNA published its interview with partner Randall M. Fox, former New York Attorney General Bureau Chief, on why states should lift their bar on qui tam tax claims.
On April 8, 2014, Bloomberg reported the addition of new partner Randall Fox to Kirby McInerney. Mr. Fox was previously the founding head of the Taxpayer Protection Bureau in New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office.
Kirby McInerney LLP announced today that it has enhanced its whistleblower practice by adding Randall M. Fox as a partner based in its New York office. Mr. Fox recently served as the founding Bureau Chief of the New York Attorney General’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau, where he primarily prosecuted whistleblower actions concerning claims of fraud against the government.
The U.S. Treasury has weathered complaints over the reach of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which aims to prevent international tax evasion, but some critics say the law could be weakened by changes to whistleblower rules proposed by another bureau of the department: the Internal Revenue Service.
Kirby McInerney LLP today has announced the $3.85 million settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit relating to a decade-long customs fraud scheme conducted by a Hong-Kong based jewelry manufacturer and its affiliates. The action was filed by Kirby McInerney under the False Claims Act on behalf of its client, a whistleblower who learned about the fraudulent conduct.
The S.E.C.’s new whistleblower rules, recently adopted pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, take effect August 12th. Under them, the S.E.C. is required to pay whistleblowers bounty awards for information leading to enforcement actions that result in monetary recoveries of over $1 million.
Following President Obama’s July 21st signing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law, the Law Firm of Kirby McInerney LLP has announced its formation of a focused Financial Whistleblower Litigation Group.
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You can reach us by filling out and submitting the form below or by calling our dedicated whistleblower line at 212-699-1160.
KM represented the whistleblower who received nearly $200 million, the largest CFTC whistleblower award ever and the second largest whistleblower award arising under the Dodd-Frank and IRS whistleblower programs. The information the whistleblower provided catalyzed investigations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a U.S. federal regulator, and a foreign regulator into the manipulation of crucial financial benchmarks used by global banks as the basis for the pricing of fixed income securities and derivative products. The CFTC initially rejected the whistleblower’s award application, but KM's advocacy resulted in a successful appeal for the client.
KM procured the largest-ever settlement of an income tax whistleblower case under the New York False Claims Act – $105 million – through our representation of a whistleblower against hedge fund billionaire Thomas Sandell and Sandell Asset Management Corporation alleging they submitted false New York tax returns that failed to count more than $450 million as New York-taxable income, causing them to underpay New York taxes by more than $50 million. Our client received award of 21% of the $105 million recovery.
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