What day is National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day celebrated? May 8
What is National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day? National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day brings awareness to the amount of fraud against the government and teaches the public how to obtain a monetary reward for reporting it.
Ten percent of all government spending is lost due to fraud. Because the government spends $4 trillion a year (which is over $10,000 per person), as much as $400 billion may be lost annually to fraud. It’s no wonder why we have a national economic crisis! That’s why Congress authorized the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay whistleblower rewards up to 30 percent of the amount it recovers based upon whistleblowers reporting fraud by any government contractor under any program, such as Medicare, DOD, the military, or Homeland Security.
Statistics for the DOJ whistleblower reward program
- The largest whistleblower reward in a single case is $150 million
- The average whistleblower reward is $549,665
- DOJ has recovered $40 billion ($40,549,645,268) in fraud cases brought by whistleblowers
- DOJ has paid whistleblowers rewards of over $6.5 billion ($6,584,992,211)
- Each year, DOJ pays approximately $400 million in whistleblower rewards
Who created National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day? National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day started in 2018. It was formed by Joel Hesch, a whistleblower attorney who spent over 15 years working in Department of Justice whistleblower reward office. While at DOJ, Mr. Hesch obtained over $1 billion in recoveries back for the government from those cheating the government and paid out hundred of millions in rewards to whistleblowers. Mr. Hesch formed his own law firm and now exclusively represents whistleblowers nationwide in filing for rewards for reporting fraud against the government, including government contractor fraud.
According to Mr. Hesch, “I formed National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day to help whistleblowers properly report fraud against the government, such as Medicare or military fraud, and get a reward in the process. I also want to educate the public on properly reporting fraud. While at DOJ, I’ve seen whistleblowers make a lot of mistakes. Unless they properly report it, there’s no guarantee an investigation will take place. Worse yet, if they don’t scrupulously follow the formula, they won’t receive a reward. I want to change all of that.”
Free e-books addressing Medicare or military fraud
To help whistleblowers properly report fraud, Mr. Hesch wrote two free e-books. The first free e-book addresses Medicare fraud, including the common Medicare fraud schemes and the ways to report Medicare fraud. The second free e-book addresses fraud against the military or homeland security. His free e-books also contain his personal contact information so that you can ask Mr. Hesch incomplete confidence to review your potential reward case.
Mr. Hesch also has a website that further explains what steps are necessary to be eligible for a whistleblower reward.
How to celebrate National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day? Celebrate National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day by downloading his free e-books so you understand the various fraud schemes and the Department of Justice (DOJ) whistleblower reward program. The e-books explains the benefits and risks of reporting fraud and the various ways you can report fraud. If you have the right type of information, you can and should report government contractor fraud as outlined in the e-books and in the next section.
You can also celebrate National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day by sharing this day and web page with everyone you know so that the whole world can participate in stamping out fraud. Only when fraud doers know that the public knows how to spot government contractor fraud and can get a reward for reporting it will they think twice about ripping off our government programs.
How to report Government Contractor Fraud and received a monetary reward? There are two very different ways of reporting government contractor fraud, with two very different results.
- File for a Reward under the DOJ Whistleblower Reward Program
The first way to report government contractor fraud is to have a whistleblower attorney, such as Mr. Hesch, help you blow the whistle under the Department of Justice (DOJ) reward program, which pays whistleblower rewards of between 15% to 30% of the amount DOJ recovers.
If you report fraud under the DOJ program, the government must open an investigation and inform your attorney of the results. Thus, applying for a reward through a whistleblower attorney is the only way to ensure an investigation takes place (rather than just calling an agency hotline). Today, over three-fourths of the government’s fraud cases are DOJ whistleblower reward cases. Thus, the government is counting on whistleblowers to bring fraud cases to DOJ and receive a reward in the process.
- Report fraud to the agency
The second way to report government contractor fraud is to report it directly to the affected government agency. Every agency has websites allowing whistleblowers to report fraud, waste and abuse. Although most agencies do not offer any rewards for contacting them directly, they do have offices responsible for reviewing citizen complaints. You can do this without an attorney and even anonymously. Just conduct an internet search for the federal agency to obtain its contact page for reporting fraud.
There are a few downsides by reporting the fraud to the agency and not by filing for a reward with the Department of Justice. First, there is often is no reward. Second, the agency does not have to open an investigation. Third, the agency does not have to tell you the results of any investigation. Nevertheless, there are times when it makes sense to report fraud directly to the agency through its website or by calling its hotline.
What other national days are there for whistleblowing or whistleblower rewards for reporting fraud? There are many other national days relating to reporting fraud against the government. Here are just a few:
National Report IRS Fraud Day April 10
National Report Medicare Fraud Day September 12
National Report Military Fraud Day July 2
National Whistleblower Reward Day February 20
National Day Archives also has a separate category just for Politics/Government. For more days relating to the Politics/Government browse the category button on the top left of the web page.