by Brian Mahany The Inspector General for the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) issued a stinging report criticizing both small banks and the government itself. One TARP program, the Small Business Lending Fund, was intended by Congress to jump start the economy by getting loans to small business. Instead, some banks simply took […]
State Tax Whistleblower Case Nets $5.5 Million
by Brian Mahany Virtually all of our whistleblower stories relate to the federal False Claims Act. President Lincoln proposed the law during the Civil War as a way of helping the government recover millions of dollars lost to fraud. Bad rations, soggy ammunition and lame mules were just some of the ways private vendors ripped […]
Feds Fine Mortgage Insurers – New Opportunity For Whistleblowers
by Brian Mahany and Anthony Dietz The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – CFPB for short – was formed less than 2 years ago but has proven itself to have some muscle. Although Congress failed to give the agency the power to toss bad bankers and fraudster in jail, it has proven itself quite adept at […]
Mortgage Execs Face Civil Charges But No Jail – Whistleblower Post
by Brian Mahany Once upon a time, Thornburg Mortgage was one of the largest real estate lenders in the nation. Like our perennial “favorite” Allied Home Mortgage, Thornburg had more than its fair share of problems. While HUD ultimately caused Allied to collapse, Thornburg met a similar fate after a $36 billion bankruptcy filing. Four […]
Bad News For Fraudsters In Wisconsin – Whistleblower Post
by Brian Mahany Early this morning I wrote about the never ending battle against fraud. This afternoon, a little bit of good news. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that last year the state, several counties and a private investigative firm were able to identify over $14 million in fraud within the FoodShare and Medicaid programs. […]
Crowd Funding For Whistleblower Efforts
by Brian Mahany Crowd-funding has yet go main stream yet and many such efforts are scams. One that gets our attention and admiration, however, is being run by Edward Seidel. He hopes to ultimately raise $2 million to fund the investigation of whistleblower claims. Investors would have the opportunity to share in any future awards. […]
Cell Phone Lifeline Program Great Whistleblower Opportunity
[Post updated January 2019] Today’s Wall Street Journal says it all. Millions of Americans illegally claimed eligibility to the Lifeline program. Now that the FCC has cracked down on the the eligibility guidelines and misspending, the question becomes who to blame. Is it solely the fault of greedy program participants who lied on applications or […]
Detroit Corruption An Opportunity For Whistleblowers
by Brian Mahany Last week I was in Detroit for business. As I drove by the U.S. courthouse, I remarked at the half dozen news vans parked outside the building. The taxi driver reminded me of the on-going criminal corruption trial of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Detroit residents know all about corruption. Unfortunately, Detroit […]
Whistleblowers Claim That Deutsche Bank Hid Billions In Losses
by Brian Mahany In yet another chapter in the tales of the banks deemed “too big to fail,” 3 former employees of Deutsche Bank have come forward and accused the banking giant of intentionally hiding billions of dollars of trading losses from regulators. During the height of the financial crisis, the bank’s CEO was quoted […]
Net Branch Office 101 (How NOT To Get Sued For A Violation Of The False Claims Act)
by Brian Mahany For those not in the mortgage industry, a “net branch” is a branch office of a mortgage company. The branch usually keeps all the income from loans originated within the branch, less the lender’s administrative or overhead fees. Many mortgage industry professionals like them because it allows folks to quickly open a […]