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April 11, 2014 False Claims Act Legal News

Celebrating Three Courageous Whistleblowers Who Were Victorious Against Halliburton, Enron, Countrywide

Serving as a whistleblower in a case involving government, securities, commodities, or tax fraud takes perseverance, courage, and patience. Many of these cases take years to resolve and involve high-pressure federal investigations into billion-dollars industries plagued by scandal and fraud. If you are considering a whistleblower lawsuit but are fearful of the consequences, a whistleblower attorney can help guide you through the process while helping to secure your rights and avoid retaliation. In this article, we examine several courageous whistleblowers whose claims were diminished early on, but went on to become meritorious in their fight against corporate misconduct and greed.

Whistleblower #1 – Bunny Greenhouse: Halliburton Whistleblower

We have covered fraud-smitten Halliburton in past articles, and Pentagon executive Bunny Greenhouse was one of the first to shed light on this firm’s non-stop access to billion-dollar government contracts – often stealing the limelight without a single competing bid. Ms. Greenhouse initially presented her suspicions to Congress, but was thereafter demoted and lost her security clearance. However, in a subsequent settlement between the military contractor and the Department of Justice, she received just shy of $1 million for her troubles – including lost wages.

Whistleblower #2 – Anonymous Whistleblower Against Enron

We are all familiar with the shambles associated with the fall of Enron, Inc. However, lesser-known to the media and followers of this story is the anonymous whistleblower who reportedly spent thousands of hours attempting to entice the Internal Revenue Service to get involved – before it was too late. Reports surfaced after the fall of Enron that an anonymous employee had repeatedly alerted the IRS as to the company’s fraudulent tax havens and unlawful business practices. Despite a 12-year time investment, the whistleblower was finally rewarded with a $1.1 million award.

Whistleblower #3 – Eileen Foster: Countrywide Whistleblower

In 2008, we all experienced the dramatic meltdown of the U.S. housing market – prompted in large part by the sub-prime lending industry. Prior to these events, one courageous and outspoken Countrywide employee (a guilt-ridden subsidiary of Bank of America) attempted repeatedly to expose the lending practices of these banks, eventually resulting in her facing retaliatory termination of her position as an in-house fraud investigator (after being offered $228,000 to conceal her allegations of egregious, widespread fraud). Ms. Foster was eventually meritorious in her wrongful retaliation lawsuit, earning her $930,000 in damages and a reinstatement of her former position as Senior VP of Mortgage Fraud Investigations. Ms. Foster was also honored with the Ridenhour Prize for Truth Telling, a prestigious award reserved for those who, through the act of truth telling, protect the public and promote social justice.

Protect Your Rights: Contact a Whistleblower Attorney Today

The above cases represent whistleblowers who endured unfair and unlawful circumstances in the beginning, but went on to receive sizable rewards and national recognition for their efforts. If you are aware of possible fraud occurring in your place of employment, the best first step is to meet with a whistleblower attorney right away to discuss your case. For more information about the whistleblower process, contact Berger Montague today.