Richard Bowen has been the subject of a lot of attention in recent years. He’s been featured in the New York Times and was a subject of a segment on CBS’s 60 Minutes. While today he is a senior lecturer of accounting for the University of Texas at Dallas, he performs this role with a unique perspective as someone who was involved in a major whistleblower case in the accounting industry.
Bowen was once a top mortgage lending executive for Citigroup, but was fired as soon as he reported wrongdoing within the upper levels of the organization. He would eventually file a complaint under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which would lead to him testifying before Congress and ultimately prompting a government investigation of Citigroup that would lead to a $7 billion settlement last summer.
Today, Bowen, who was a client of Whistleblower Law for Mangers’ Steve Kardell, is seen as a bit of an unsung hero. It’s important to remember that at the time Bowen originally alerted authorities to the wrongdoing within Citigroup, whistleblowers were not being afforded nearly the same protections or incentives that they now receive from the federal government. It made him a trailblazer in a sense, as he was unafraid to stand up to a huge corporation that ended up costing people tens of billions of dollars in misrepresented loans.
By late 2007, there was about $50 million in substandard mortgage loans. Bowen raised concerns with the new chairman of the company in November 2007, but was essentially told to not worry about it and to not raise his concerns again. Just after the turn of the New Year of 2008, he was put on paid leave and told not to return to his office.
Today, Bowen is happy with the opportunities he has had to pass on his knowledge to his students. However, those familiar with the case know that he should be seen as an icon for potential whistleblowers across the country.
For representation from Attorney Kardell and other highly experienced whistleblower lawyers, consult the team at Whistleblower Law for Managers in Dallas.
