Identifying Corporate Fraud
Deceit In The Private Sector
Corporate fraud is a silent thief — of time, of money, potentially even of lives. Companies that steal from the government steal from all of us.
The federal False Claims Act and state laws modeled on it help governments identify and stop fraud and get back money lost to fraudsters by sharing the recovery with private individuals who report fraud they witness.
In spite of the heroic efforts of whistleblowers who risk their careers to do the right thing, fraud in government programs continues. By some calculations, fraud accounts for a loss of approximately 7% of the federal budget (see page 7 of the report) each year. And new targets of fraud continue to emerge — for instance, cryptocurrency fraud now accounts for $14 billion lost each year, more than the GDP of 70 countries. The recent report, Fraud by the Numbers in 2022, released on February 1 by Taxpayers Against Fraud, illustrates just how much remains to be done to stop fraud.
Fraud By The Numbers in 2022
A Project by Taxpayers Against Fraud
Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF), a public interest, nonprofit organization, offers extensive resources and support for whistleblowers who expose fraud on the government. “Fraud By The Numbers in 2022” is part of the organization’s ongoing effort to illuminate the impact of fraud on the government.
The report takes an objective, numbers-based approach to reveal the reality of fraud and its impact on the federal economy and everyday life. Each of the report’s thirty sections highlights a different facet of modern fraud. For example, some highlights from the report include the following:
- The rise of Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 financial assistance has, not surprisingly, led to the rise of COVID-19 healthcare-related fraud; the Department of Justice found that “21 defendants across 9 federal districts allegedly caused over $149 million in pandemic-related false billings to the government.”
- Fraud is not limited to government-funded programs, as California and Illinois recognized in recently adopted laws to allow whistleblowers to help fight private insurance fraud, which can cost the public more than $100 billion each year.
- Fraud is also not limited to healthcare—in 2021, the Department of Justice “reported total settlements and recoveries of $119.6 million in Department of Defense related matters,” and the Government Accountability Office estimated that “federal agencies made $281 billion in improper payments” in 2021.; and
- There are more than 275 million registered vehicles in the United States, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration whistleblower program issued just one whistleblower award in 2021—demonstrating the dire need for whistleblowers to step forward and help identify and address instances of fraud.
As TAF President Jeb White noted, the report “emphasize[s] the urgent need for policymakers to tackle the fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars by strengthening whistleblower programs and ensuring more resources for the government officials charged with recovering this money.”
Don’t Stand Silent In The Face Of Injustice
We’re Right There With You
At Miller Law Group, we stand ready to help North Carolina whistleblowers report what they know, collect their share of the proceeds from stopping fraud, and protect themselves from retaliation. Is a company you work for committing fraud? Call Miller Law Group now to find out what your options are.
Read the full “Fraud by the Numbers” report here.
