Halperin Bikel NYC – Attorneys for New York Whistleblowers
Federal & NY State Laws Punish Companies for Stealing Taxpayer Money
Halperin Bikel qui tam lawyers are adept at helping whistleblowers investigate fraud, package award claims, and seek job protection & penalties for retaliatory firings in six situations below.
If you are aware of these or other types of fraud at your job, you may be able to report it under the FCA (False Claims Act) whistleblower claim and reward provisions, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) whistleblower program, or other programs such as the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), IRS, and others.
No matter what type of fraud you uncover or what federal statutes your lawyer uses to file a claim, all whistleblower laws do two important things:
- They provide legal protections for blowing the whistle
- They include generous cash rewards as incentives
Whistleblower laws are designed to help and protect you. Halperin Bikel attorneys will help you take advantage of the laws and avoid the pitfalls.
Reasons why we believe we are the best New York, NY whistleblower law firm:
- Our subject matter experts, not just the law, e.g. SEC enforcement, healthcare insiders...
- Our reputation at the Department of Justice, SEC and other whistleblower offices
- Our experience ($10 billion in settlements and verdicts) in qui tam cases
- Our exclusive focus on helping people blowing the whistle on fraud
- Our success at protecting whistleblowers from retailiation and maximizing cash rewards
Halperin Bikel lawyers work on a contigency (percentage) basis, advancing most or all costs of pursuing your claim. This means you don't pay unless we win.
Call Now to Protect Your Rights - No Cost Confidential Legal Consult 929.290.1266
Qui Tam Plaintiffs Can Earn Multi-Million Dollar Rewards
New York and federal SEC, FCA, IRS, CFTC... claimants are rewarded handsomely because their information is invaluable to the government and there is risk in the reporting. Successful whistleblowers routinely earn million dollar rewards, sometimes into the tens of millions, for their efforts.
Recoveries may include:
- Federal rewards between 15 an 30% of the government's total recovery
- State rewards, typically in healthcare Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE fraud, in a similar amount
- Securities Exchange Commission cash awards that vary depending on the quality of information
- Attorney's fees
- Back pay and/or reinstatement to your position if you were wrongfully terminated
People who step forward to report fraudulent conduct earn the satisfaction of knowing they did the right thing, in addition to the financial incentives.
The Halperin Bikel qui tam team, working with lawyers across the U.S., has helped clients recover more than $10 billion for taxpayers with reward money to clients exceeding $150 million in the last 5 years
Is Your Employer Committing Fraud Against the U.S. or New York State Government?
Our experienced whistleblower lawyers can help you report Healthcare (Medicare or Medicaid), Government Contract, Securities, and other fraud while protecting you.
If you have information about fraud that cheats the U.S. government or New York taxpayers or exposes corporate misconduct that violates SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) regulations, you may be eligible for a substantial monetary reward, and for good reason.
Reporting fraud is a courageous and patriotic act. The U.S. Department of Justice recovered almost $3 billion last year from False Claim Act lawsuits for American taxpayers because whistleblowers came forward.
Under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) as well as the NY State FCA, the first person who reports not-previously-exposed fraud to the government (following a strict reporting procedure to assure a cash reward), this person (known as a "relator" or qui tam plaintiff in FCA cases) is entitled to a substantial cash bounty: up to 30% of any money the government recovers, including penalties.
In many cases, a whistleblower reward can be in the millions of dollars.
If you are aware of fraud at your workplace, don't wait - the first to report helps stop the misconduct and preserves their right to an award.
Were You Fired for Spotlighting or Reporting Your Employer's Misconduct?
If you are afraid of being demoted, harassed, or fired for reporting misconduct in your company, our attorneys put the law on your side and protect you.
For example: The False Claims Act includes provisions that protect you from an employer's retaliation (retaliatory conduct) that includes everything from on the job harassment, demoting an employee, or outright firing them when they point out the company is breaking the law.
If you are considering reporting the fraudulent conduct, whether to your employer or a government agency, talk to an experienced whistleblower attorney with deep employment law experience to assess the risks to your career and all of your options prior to taking action.
If you have already reported the misconduct and are experiencing retaliation, our legal team will seek damages for you on top of any rewards for a successful whistleblower claim.
New York State Whistleblower Laws
In addition to federal laws, New York State has its own whistleblower statute. The reporting and reward provisions (state False Claims Act) mirror substantially the federal False Claims Act. New York State labor laws however also say it is illegal for public or private companies to retaliate against employees for reporting illegal activity or providing information during a whistleblower investigation.
If you were retaliated against for doing the right thing, you may be able to win back pay, reinstatement of your position, and attorney's fees on top of any rewards for reporting.
What a False Claims Act Qui Tam Lawsuit Looks Like
The most common whistleblower action is a claim under the U.S. or New York State False Claims Act. In these cases, here's what you can expect working with the Halperin Bikel legal team:
- A lawyer with experience in your specific field. e.g. medical billing, kickbacks, defense contract billing schemes... will evaluate your claim and let you know the likelihood of your success and spotlight any employment risks you may be taking, and how to minimize those risks.
- Our legal team and forensic investigators will work with you to gather evidence and package your information so that your claim will stand out among the many received by the law enforcement agency responsible for you type of case.
- We prepare and file a qui tam lawsuit, to officially make your claim. Qui tam suits are filed "under seal", meaning your employer will not see this claim (you remain anonymous during this phase) while the Department of Justice investigates the matter and decides if it is a solid case worth pursuing.
- Based upon their findings, and often the political landscape at the time, the Department of Justice will either advise the court to dismiss the case, take over the claim for prosecution and pursue a settlement with the company or go to trial.
- You will receive a cash reward in the event of settlement or verdict. Even if the government declines to pursue the case, you still have the option of pursuing it on your own, in which case, the reward amount can be even higher for a successful prosecution.
In addition to New York state and federal FCA cases, we also handle SEC, CFTC, and other cases. In those instances, the procedures to launch your claim are somewhat different but all involve bringing the power of U.S. law enforcement to prosecute the misconduct.
The busy agencies (20x too many claims to prosecute) embrace the Halperin Bikel process of advance investigation, in-house subject matter experts, and reputation for delivering a ready-to-go case with strong potential to recover taxpayer monies and to stop illegal (often dangerous in the case of medical or pharmaceutical misdeeds) conduct.