Fraud Friday: Whistleblower awards


The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, it can award the whistleblower up to 30% of the additional tax, penalties, and other amounts collected. For example (although probably an unrealistically high one), Brad Birkenfeld, the UBS whistleblower, received an award of $104 million dollars from the IRS. This is the largest amount ever paid to a single whistleblower.

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