What day is National Whistleblower Reward Day celebrated? February 20
What is National Whistleblower Reward Day? Ten percent of all government spending is lost due to fraud. That adds up to $350 billion a year. To combat fraud, the government has turned to whistleblowers for help. There are now three main government whistleblower reward programs that pay significant monetary rewards to whistleblowers who report fraud against the government. The largest whistleblower reward program is run by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under the False Claims Act. It pays rewards for reporting any type of fraud against any of the more than 20 different federal agencies or programs, including Medicare, Military and Homeland Security. The average reward is over $500,000 and the highest reward has reached $150 million in a single case. The IRS and SEC have also adopted similar whistleblower reward programs to catch folks cheating on taxes or committing fraud on stockholders. Although these programs have not paid the same huge rewards, they are useful whistleblower reward programs.
Who created the day? Former Department of Justice Attorney Joel D. Hesch created the National Whistleblower Reward Day to bring attention to these three powerful whistleblower reward programs and the value and need for whistleblowers to be recognized and rewarded for reporting fraud against the government.
After 16 years of working in the DOJ whistleblower reward office in Washington D.C., and working on cases recovering over $1.5 billion dollars, Mr. Hesch formed his own law firm dedicated solely to helping whistleblowers file rewards under these three government reward programs. The Hesch Firm, LLC exclusively represents whistleblowers file for whistleblower rewards they deserve. In fact, unless you hire an attorney and file the reward application correctly, whistleblowers are not eligible for a reward. Sadly, that results in 75 percent of all applications being turned away because of some mistake. That’s why it is so important to hire an attorney experienced with these whistleblower programs.
Visit Mr. Hesch’s website for more details about these three whistleblower reward programs. You can ask Mr. Hesch to review in complete confidence your allegations of fraud against the government by filling out a form on his website and find out if he believes you have the right type of case eligible for a significant whistleblower reward and if he can represent you in filing for the reward.
How to celebrate: The best way to celebrate National Whistleblower Fraud Day is to learn about the government whistleblower reward programs (discussed more below) and then contact an experienced whistleblower reward attorney to find out if you have the right type of case eligible for a reward. In addition, tell others of National Whistleblower Reward Day and this webpage so they can help stamp out fraud against the government. Below are sections detailing how to file for a whistleblower reward, whether it is reporting Medicare fraud or Military fraud.
How to report Medicare Fraud and received a monetary reward? To help whistleblowers properly report all types of Medicare fraud Mr. Hesch authored a free e-book and created a separate website dedicated to Medicare fraud to ensure that the public knows how to properly report all types of Medicare fraud and what steps are necessary to be eligible for a reward.
In short, there are two very different ways of reporting Medicare fraud, with two very different results. One 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 25% of the amount DOJ recovers. The average DOJ reward for reporting Medicare fraud is $688,826 and some rewards have been as high as $150 million! In addition, if you report fraud under the DOJ program, the government must open an investigation and inform you of the results. Thus, applying for a DOJ reward is the only way to ensure an investigation takes place (rather than just calling a hotline). Today, over three-fourths (83%) of the government’s Medicare fraud cases are DOJ whistleblower reward cases. Thus, the government is counting on whistleblowers to bring Medicare fraud cases to DOJ and receive a reward in the process. DOJ has recovered over $30 billion ($30,304,269,058) in Healthcare fraud cases and paid out nearly $5 billion ($4,943,706,903) in whistleblower rewards. Find out if you are eligible.
The other way to report Medicare fraud is to report fraud directly to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs the Medicare program. The downside by reporting the fraud to CMS is that the reward is limited to $1,000 rather than the DOJ program that pays up to 25% with no limit or cap. You can report fraud directly to CMS through its website or by calling its hotline. Here is how to contact CMS:
- CMS hotline: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
It’s time to put an end to fraudulent Medicare claims! For more details, simply visit the National Report Medicare Fraud Day website. That website also has a free e-book and provides step-by-step instructions for reporting Medicare fraud.
How to report Military Fraud and receive a monetary reward? To help whistleblowers properly report all types of Military Fraud, DOD Fraud, or Homeland Security Fraud, Mr. Hesch authored a free e-book dedicated to reporting Military or Homeland Security fraud to ensure that the public knows how to properly report these types of fraud and what steps are necessary to be eligible for a reward.
The first method for reporting military fraud is to have a whistleblower attorney help you report military fraud under the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) whistleblower reward program. The second is to report fraud directly to the military.
As an initial matter, only the DOJ reward program pays whistleblower rewards for reporting fraud against the military or Homeland Security and other related types of fraud against the government. By law, you must use a whistleblower attorney to file for this type of a reward. The average reward under the DOJ program for reporting fraud against the military is $349,468, with some rewards close to $50 million in a single case. On the other hand, there is no reward for reporting fraud directly to the military. You can learn more about reporting military fraud for a reward by visiting Mr. Hesch’s website (www.HowToReportFraud.com). So far, DOJ has recovered over $3 billion ($3,231,690,672) in military fraud cases brought by whistleblower and has paid nearly $550 million ($549,364,943) in whistleblower rewards. Find out if you are eligible.
If you don’t want a reward and want to report fraud directly to the military, click here.
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.
- National Report General Service Administration (GSA) Fraud Day March 6
- National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day May 8
- National Report Health Care Fraud Day August 7
- National Report Home Health Care Fraud Day November 6
- National Report Homeland Security Fraud Day March 27
- National Report IRS Fraud Day April 10
- National Report Kickback Fraud Day September 18
- National Report Long Term Acute Care Hospital Fraud Day October 2
- National Report Medicare Advantage Fraud Day April 24
- National Report Medicare Fraud Day September 12
- National Report Military Fraud Day July 1
- National Report Pharmaceutical Fraud Day January 23
- National Report Stark Violations Day June 5
- National Report Trade Agreement Act (TAA) Fraud Day June 26
- National Report Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) Fraud Day October 16
- National Report Upcoding Fraud Day August 21
Seize Your Day!