Michael Sullivan, Author at Finch McCranie LLP

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Judges Address New State False Claims Act in Georgia

July 30, 2008
Michael Sullivan

At the annual “Continuing Judicial Education” conference in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia this week, I was honored to be invited to speak to the assembled judges about the new state False Claims Act in Georgia, the State False Medicaid Claims Act.

As this whistleblower lawyer blog has written about extensively, there is a wave of new state False Claims Acts across the country, as Congress has urged states to replicate the dramatic successes of the federal False Claims Act in stopping those
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Offshore Tax Evasion and Cayman Islands Hearing Prompts Grassley’s Call to Follow IRS Whistleblower Program with Additional IRS Tools

July 29, 2008
Michael Sullivan

At the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing on the Cayman Islands and offshore tax evasion last week, Senator Charles Grassley reiterated the importance of the new IRS Whistleblower program to combat tax evasion, but also stressed the need for Congress to provide the IRS greater tools to address offshore tax evasion.

The July 24 hearing focused on GAO’s investigation into the Ugland House, a law firm’s office building in the Cayman Islands that is the registered address of thousands of corporations. The hearing also examined
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IRS Predicts Whistleblowers Will Be Important to Efforts to Combat Offshore Tax Evasion After UBS

July 28, 2008
Michael Sullivan

This past week the IRS Commissioner of the Large and Midsized Business Division summarized the IRS’s efforts to combat offshore tax evasion. He predicted that whistleblowers will become increasingly important to the IRS’ efforts, given the existence of the new IRS Whistleblower rewards.

IRS Commissioner Frank Ng described to Congress the “critical importance to tax administration in this country — the practice of sheltering U.S. earned income in foreign jurisdictions as a means of avoiding U.S. taxation.”

He identified as “Tier I” issues the following transactions::

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Nursing Home Operators Plead Guilty to Medicaid Fraud and Abuse of Patients

July 27, 2008
Michael Sullivan

Having lunch this week with a public servant who investigates heath care fraud, I was struck once again by his descriptions of abuses that nursing home residents too often suffer, many of which our whistleblower attorneys had also encountered in past cases.

It is damnable enough to steal federal and state taxpayer funds that are supposed to pay for care of our elderly through Medicare and Medicaid. It is another level of depravity to ignore our elder citizens’ medical needs–and even to steal from
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Hospital System Settles Medicare Fraud False Claims Act Allegations for $60 Million

July 26, 2008
Michael Sullivan

The government’s announcement this week of a $60 million Medicare fraud settlement with a Missouri hospital system is yet another example of the need for ongoing deterrence of health care fraud.

According to the government, Lester E. Cox Medical Systems violated the False Claims Act, the nation’s primary tool for combating fraud against taxpayer funds. Dating back to 1995 and continuing to recent years, Cox allegedly committed various unlawful acts, including submitting fraudulent cost reports to obtain Medicare funds, entering into illegal arrangements
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Whistleblower Awards Work To Protect The Government From Fraud

July 24, 2008
Michael Sullivan

The False Claims Act provides awards of 15 to 30 percent of judgments and settlements against those individuals and companies that perpetrate schemes to defraud the federal government. In the event a whistleblower files a lawsuit in the name of the United States, “blows the whistle” on the fraud scheme and a financial recovery results, the whistleblower is entitled to a percentage of the recovery. Those cheating the government pay these rewards. Not one dime comes from taxpayers. The reason for this is that the
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Acknowledging the Integrity That Whistleblowers Stand For in Bringing Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases Under the False Claims Act

July 18, 2008
Michael Sullivan

“What motivates whistleblowers” is a question that our whistleblower attorneys are asked frequently. Basic honesty and integrity–trying to do the right thing–is what we see most.

It is deeply satisfying when a whistleblower’s courage in insisting on honesty and integrity is recognized and applauded. I just received this note that was sent to a client who had “taken a stand” for honesty and integrity in handling federal grant funds at an educational institution, and I am reprinting portions here. Its truth and eloquence speak
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Major “Qui Tam” Whistleblower Law Amendments Clear House Judiciary Committee, Which Approves “False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007”

July 16, 2008
Michael Sullivan

Very important amendments to the nation’s major whistleblower law, the False Claims Act, cleared the House Judiciary Committee today. The False Claims Act Corrections Act of 2007 is intended to restore the False Claims Act to its originally intended usefulness. It will eliminate many “loopholes” that dishonest government contractors have used to avoid liability.

Our whistleblower lawyer blog has often written about the False Claims Act, the qui tam law that empowers private citizens to report fraud as whistleblowers or “relators,” and
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Whistleblower Attorneys at NELA Conference Address “Strategic Thinking in Whistleblower Cases”

July 1, 2008
Michael Sullivan

This past week, more than 450 of the country’s best employment lawyers who represent individuals gathered in Atlanta for the National Employment Lawyers Association’s Annual Conference.

I had the pleasure of appearing with a group of excellent attorneys on a panel of that discussed “Strategic Thinking in Whistleblower Cases,” moderated by Robin Potter of Chicago (who won a major victory last week).Speakers at the 2008 NELA Conference panel on “Strategic Thinking in Whistleblower Cases” were (front row) David Marshall and Bryan J. Schwartz,
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New IRS Whistleblower Rules Are Issued by U.S. Tax Court

June 5, 2008
Michael Sullivan

One of the most meaningful improvements of the new IRS Whistleblower Program authorized by Congress in December 2006 is that IRS Whistleblowers have an enforceable right to a reward when they report significant tax violations. To enforce that right, tax whistleblowers can seek review by the U.S. Tax Court of award decisions.

This week, the United States Tax Court has proposed amendments to its Rules of Practice and Procedure regarding whistleblower award actions, which can be found at http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/press/060208.pdf. The IRS Whistleblower Office is expected to review the proposed Rules now and provide feedback to the Court.

The Tax Court also has invited public comments on the proposed amendments, to be received by July 31, 2008.

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TARP Apparently Overpaid for Bank Assets, According to Congressional Oversight Panel

February 6, 2009
Michael Sullivan

Those potential whistleblowers watching for TARP waste, fraud and abuse should note today’s report of the Congressional Oversight Panel. According to the report, the Treasury Department has received “far less value in stocks and warrants than the money it injected into financial institutions.”

The report, “Valuing Treasury Acquisitions,” concludes that Treasury paid “substantially more for the assets it purchased under the TARP than the market value of those assets” at the time this deal was announced. The Panel revealed that, in the ten
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Hedge Funds Face Regulation & Oversight by SEC–Will There Be Another Compliance Tool in Addition to IRS Whistleblower Program?

February 1, 2009
Michael Sullivan

When improprieties occur with hedge funds, the hedge funds’ lack of transparency and dearth of disclosure obligations make violations of the law difficult to uncover. Sometimes, persons in the hedge fund industry report those abuses through the IRS Whistleblower Program, as some of our IRS Whistleblower clients have done.

Nonetheless, the hedge fund industry remains cloaked in secrecy, frustrating experts who now seek to gauge the impact of hedge funds on the current financial crisis.

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Whistleblower Protections Added to Economic Stimulus Bill Passed by House

January 28, 2009
Michael Sullivan

When the Wall Street “bailout” grew with Congress’ creation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Sen. Chuck Grassley emphasized the importance of “whistleblowers” and the False Claims Act to protecting these taxpayer funds from fraud and abuse.

Tonight, the House added to the bailout by passing the economic stimulus package, HR 1, and approved an amendment adding whistleblower protection for federal employees.

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With TARP and Wall Street Bailout, Securities Fraud and Accounting Fraud Are Targeted by New Supplemental Anti-Fraud Enforcement (“SAFE”) Markets Act

January 27, 2009
Michael Sullivan

Financial fraud is a frequent topic of whistleblower cases and of this whistleblower lawyer blog, especially with TARP and the Wall Street “bailout” dominating headlines.

Senators Chuck Shumer and Richard Shelby have proposed a bipartisan bill to bolster federal resources to combat securities fraud and accounting fraud, the Supplemental Anti-Fraud Enforcement (“SAFE”) Markets Act.

Here are excerpts from the Senators’ announcement:

“Our white collar crime divisions are under-staffed, under-funded, and overwhelmed,” Schumer said. “When a wave of violent crime sweeps through a city,
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Will Wall Street Bailout Help Firms That Are “Tax Dodgers” and Hide Income in Offshore Tax “Havens”? And Will the IRS Whistleblower Program Provide a Remedy?

January 18, 2009
Michael Sullivan

As our government hemorrhages its taxpayers’ funds to “bail out” firms that made poor decisions–such as American International Group (AIG), Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and American Express–a just-issued report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) raises a disturbing question: have many of the same firms already been avoiding paying their “fair share” of U.S. taxes by using offshore tax “havens”?

If so, whistleblowers will be performing a civic duty by reporting any tax evasion and noncompliance through the IRS Whistleblower Program.

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Offshore Tax Evasion Case: Former UBS AG’s Raoul Weil Declared a Fugitive

January 16, 2009
Michael Sullivan

Offshore tax evasion and international tax avoidance schemes have been priorities of the IRS and its IRS Whistleblower Program, as our whistleblower lawyer blog has followed repeatedly.

This week, the U.S. prosecution of the former head of UBS AG’s wealth management business, Raoul Weil, took a strange turn as he failed to surrender himself and was declared a fugitive. Weil allegedly conspired to help 17,000 American taxpayers conceal approximately $20 billion of assets in Swiss accounts, to avoid payment of U.S. taxes.

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Treasury Department Announces $14 Billion in TARP Funds to More Than 40 “Local” Banks

January 13, 2009
Michael Sullivan

Continuing the “bailout,” the Treasury Department has just announced the release of $14.77 billion in TARP funds to what it refers to as 43 “local” banks (listed below).

“Local” may be a misnomer, as the list includes $10 billion to Bank of America Corp., and more than $3 billion to American Express Company.

Let’s hope that Congress and the Treasury Department make good on the promise to protect these taxpayer funds through effective oversight, meaningful restrictions, and whistleblower protections, and that Sen. Grassley’s prediction that the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act will be used vigorously to redress any fraud or abuse with TARP funds comes true.

Below are today’s announced recipients of the funds:
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More IRS Whistleblower Procedures Announced by IRS Large and Midsize Business Division (LMSB)

January 13, 2009
Michael Sullivan

The IRS Large and Midsize Business Division (LMSB) has published a new memorandum on how it will handle IRS Whistleblower claims, the process for citizens to report tax fraud, tax evasion, and other tax noncompliance–and share in the government’s recovery of money. (https://www.irs.gov/pub/foia/ig/lmsb/lmsb-4-1108-052.pdf).

The LMSB Division has responsibility over corporations, subchapter S corporations, and partnerships with assets greater than $10 million. This IRS Division is divided by industry groups, including (1) Communications, Technology, and Media; (2) Financial Services; (3) Heavy Manufacturing and Transportation;
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Fraud and Abuse in Underpayment of Royalties from Oil and Gas Leases–The False Claims Act Provides A Solution

January 11, 2009
Michael Sullivan

As hundreds of billions in taxpayer funds flow to TARP bailout recipients, the government must make doubly sure to stop or minimize fraud and abuse in every federal program.

One area that cries out for attention is the underpayment of royalties owed to the government under oil and gas leases. The qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act provide a basis for taxpayers to recover damages–and the whistleblower to receive a share of the recovery–when obligations to the government are underpaid.
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TARP Fund Restrictions Are Proposed in New Legislation

January 10, 2009
Michael Sullivan

Much criticism has flowed from how the first $350 billion in TARP “bailout” funds are being used. Thus far, the need for additional restrictions to prevent and penalize fraud and abuse of TARP money remains unmet.

In response, yesterday House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank proposed legislation establishing greater limits on use of TARP funds, among other things.

The “TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009” (HR 384) would require quarterly reports from recipients on their use of TARP funds, restrict the use of
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