Whistleblower Programs

You know what happened inside the business. You may not know whether it belongs with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department or another agency. That is work we do with you. Whistleblower reward programs connect different kinds of misconduct to different recoveries, and the useful starting point is the conduct you can explain.

False Bills or Money Kept From the Government

A healthcare company bills for care it never provided, a contractor misrepresents its work, or an importer conceals duties it owes. These are the kinds of facts that can belong in a False Claims Act whistleblower case, which can give the person bringing a successful private action a share of the recovery. Federal law establishes that private role, and our discussion of how a whistleblower’s share works follows the recovery through to an award.

State and local false claims laws can matter too, particularly when both state and federal funds paid the bill. Our page on state Medicaid false claims cases explains the connection to state money. Coverage varies, as the federal health inspector general’s state-law reviews show. We assess those connections with you.

Investors Were Given a False Picture

The accounts, the investment pitch and what the business actually did may tell different stories. The SEC’s reward program covers qualifying original information about securities violations that leads to successful enforcement. The SEC’s fiscal 2025 annual report explains its award authority.

Trading misconduct involving derivatives can instead involve the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC’s whistleblower program rewards qualifying information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, as its program overview explains. Which market, product and conduct are involved is part of the case assessment we make with you.

The Tax Return Leaves Out What the Business Knows

Income has disappeared, deductions have been invented or an offshore arrangement conceals the real transaction. The IRS’s whistleblower program can reward information that leads to collected tax-enforcement proceeds under the federal tax reward law. We connect your understanding of the business to the tax information that was misrepresented.

Suspicious Money Kept Moving After the Warnings

You may have seen customer due-diligence checks bypassed, suspicious activity concealed or transactions structured to evade sanctions. Those facts can engage the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and its whistleblower program, covering specified anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations. It has statutory award authority, but FinCEN’s current program page says award processing and payment will begin after its implementing regulation is finalized. FinCEN published its proposed rule on April 1, 2026.

Our discussion of rewards for exposing money laundering connects those violations to the award law. We assess the transactions and possible program overlap with you and counsel.

Competitors Agreed Who Would Win

A bid was designed to lose, prices moved by agreement, or competitors divided the customers. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has a whistleblower rewards program for qualifying antitrust crimes, run with its postal enforcement partners. The agency’s program terms provide for discretionary rewards connected to qualifying criminal fines or recoveries. We work through how the agreement operated and who can explain it.

Corporate Crime Behind the Payments

Bribes, financial crimes, healthcare fraud and customs fraud can also raise questions about the Justice Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program. It offers discretionary awards connected to successful forfeiture in designated areas, under guidance revised July 30, 2026. Our discussion of the corporate pilot and antitrust rewards addresses their relationship. For issuer bribery, the SEC reward route can also apply, as our Foreign Corrupt Practices Act field explains.

The Justice Department announced its Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, known as WHIP, on October 20, 2026. It offers discretionary rewards of $10,000 to $30,000 for qualifying original information leading to criminal charges, with an emphasis on hospice, home health care, federally subsidized childcare and special services fraud. The award is decided once the Justice Department has obtained and made public a criminal charge, and a conviction is not required. That makes WHIP a separate program from the Corporate Pilot, which waits for a final forfeiture. WHIP’s terms distinguish that earlier payment from later recovery-based awards.

A Bank, Insurer or Importer Hid the Real Transaction

Fraud affecting financial institutions can involve reward provisions under the Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act, alongside the other laws that may apply to a lending scheme. Customs law also has a separate informer award provision. Our page on rewards for exposing unpaid customs duties provides the connection to import fraud. We evaluate the available paths together.

Private insurance fraud has its own whistleblower routes in California and Illinois. California Insurance Code Section 1871.7 authorizes private actions and a share of qualifying recoveries, and Illinois’s Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act provides a share of qualifying recoveries. The insurer, the conduct and the state matter to that assessment.

A Safety Defect or Environmental Violation Was Concealed

A manufacturer, parts supplier or dealership may have concealed a serious vehicle safety problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s whistleblower program can reward qualifying employees or contractors whose information leads to successful enforcement. The federal vehicle safety law establishes that program.

Concealed air pollution, ship pollution and wildlife trafficking also have specific reward laws. The Clean Air Act, Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act authorize awards in defined circumstances. An insider’s knowledge of the concealed discharge, shipment or record can give us a starting point for assessing the case.

The Facts You Know Are Where We Begin

You do not need to choose a program before speaking with us. Questions about the right agency, anonymity, retaliation, eligibility or a possible reward are reasons for a confidential conversation. We are whistleblowers ourselves, with more than 20 years of experience working alongside counsel.

We develop the facts, help assemble the right legal team and stay with you throughout the case. Speak with our whistleblower experts about what happened and how we can build your strongest whistleblower action.