05/06/2013 // Whistleblower Law Firm // Keller Grover // (press release)
(New on whistleblower lawsuits) As noted in a recent news story, a report has been released by Republican lawmakers criticizing Labor secretary nominee Thomas Perez over a deal brokered while he headed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Included on the list of allegations made against Perez in the 63-page report were accusations that he persuaded the city of St. Paul, Minnesota to withdraw a case involving alleged housing discrimination prior to it reaching the Supreme Court. The act, GOP lawmakers allege, was done in exchange for agreement by the Justice Department to refrain from intervening in two whistleblower cases against the city, which could have resulted in awards of up to $200 million for tax payers, the lawmakers further assert.
Whether the allegations are true or not remains to be seen. However the politicization of this whistleblower case either way is troubling. The city of St. Paul allegedly sent false certifications to the federal government indicating it had complied with a series of housing-related regulations. In accordance with federal law, individuals or private parties who have information about related wrongdoing can pursue whistleblower lawsuits of this type. Allegations that the Justice Department’s intervention in these lawsuits may have been made on factors outside the case itself would be troubling indeed. However, intervention is not a determination of the merits of the cases and the whistleblowers who brought them still have the ability to proceed without the federal government. These allegations, therefore, highlight yet another way that whistleblowers protect the integrity of the process and insure that money improperly taken from the federal government may still be returned.
Wins in False Claims Act cases from whistleblower lawsuits benefit taxpayers because they help prevent tax money that is put into the federal system from being abused or misused – even by other governmental entities. When pubic funds are wasted, a number of consequences may follow including, funding cuts for social programs, cuts to education programs, and tax increases, among others.
Keller Grover whistleblower lawyers are available to provide answers to those with questions about their legal options if they see abuses in government funded programs. Individuals may contact the Keller Grover law firm to request free confidential consultations on whistleblower lawsuits.
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