2012: What a Year to Blow Your Whistle | Law Office of Steve Kardell

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

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Despite reports of a federal government crackdown on leaks and whistleblowers, a review of the amount of whistleblower settlements in 2012 will blow your mind. Across all business disciplines and governmental agencies, whistleblowing led to major settlements.

Whistleblowing settlements across America

Spanning the spectrum of American businesses, whistleblowers were awarded significant sums of money in 2012. The United States Department of Justice recovered almost $5 billion in False Claims Act cases — most of which were filed under the False Claims Act’s whistleblowing Qui Tam provision, which provides tipsters with financial rewards. Bradley Birkenfeld, former UBS banker, received $104 million for revealing the bank’s extensive scheme to enable U.S. citizens to hide their money and avoid taxes. In Knoxville, Tennessee, a truck driver, who was fired for complaining about his employer’s safety violations, won more than $30,000 after a three-year struggle.

Top Ten Whistleblower Settlements of 2012

Following is a list of the largest known whistleblower settlements in 2012:

GlaxoSmithKine settled for $3 billion for illegal marketing of prescription drugs
Abbott Laboratories reached a $1.5 billion because of off-label marketing of Depakote
Bank of America settled for $1 billion when faced with charges of mortgage and bank fraud
Merck reached a settlement of $950 million for marketing Vioxx illegally
Pfizer avoided charges of kickbacks and using off label marketing for Rapamune by settling for $491million
Senior Care Action Network reached a settlement of $323 million California Medicaid and HMO cost reporting fraud
Actavis paid $202 million to settle a set of claims that the company inflated prices causing state governments to overpay on drugs
Deutsche Bank settled for $202 million when facing changes of false certification for HUD/FHA loans
Oracle paid $199 million to settle a charge of failing to provide discount pricing
McKesson avoided charges that it deliberately drove up prices by settling for $190 million

Temper the celebration with the risks

Whistleblowers face a lengthy legal battle before trial or settlement. They may also lose their livelihood, their friends and perhaps even their freedom.

For further information about Texas whistleblower suits, consult with a whistleblower attorney today.

By Admin | Published September 2, 2013 | Posted in Employee Rights | Tagged biggest whistleblowers, False Claims Act, whistleblower awards

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Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.