Whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld Rewarded Record $104M for Exposing How UBS Helped Rich Evade Taxes

Whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld Rewarded Record $104M for Exposing How UBS Helped Rich Evade Taxes (click here and check this out!)

The IRS has announced a record $104 million reward to a whistleblower who exposed the largest tax evasion scheme in U.S. history. Former UBS AG banker Brad Birkenfeld first reported in 2007 that he and his colleagues had encouraged rich Americans to store more than $20 billion in offshore Swiss bank accounts and cheat the IRS. But after coming forward, Birkenfeld was prosecuted and convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to prison. Following Birkenfeld’s release last month, on Tuesday the IRS vindicated his actions with the largest amount ever awarded  under its whistleblower program. We’re joined by Stephen Kohn, an attorney for Birkenfeld and executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

      Filed under  Tax Havens, Stephen Kohn

 

Guest:

Stephen Kohn, co-counsel for UBS whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld, and executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center. He’s also the author of “The Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself.”

 

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Spying on Scientists: How the FDA Monitored Whistleblowers Who Raised Concerns over Radiation (from Democracy Now)

Spying on Scientists: How the FDA Monitored Whistleblowers Who Raised Concerns over Radiation  (click to access this story)

The Food and Drug Administration has been found to have launched a massive surveillance campaign targeting its own scientists for writing letters to journalists, members of Congress and President Obama. The scientists were expressing their concern over the FDA’s approval of medical imaging devices for colonoscopies and mammograms that could endanger patients with high levels of radiation. The covert spying operation led the agency to monitor the scientists’ computers at work and at home, copying emails and thumb drives and even monitoring individual messages line by line as they were being composed in real time. The agency also created an enemies list. We’re joined by the FDA whistleblowers’ attorney, Stephen Kohn, executive director of the National Whistleblowers Center. “For the first time, we now have a glimpse into what domestic surveillance of whistleblowers looks like in this country with the modern technological developments,” Kohn says. “The agency [sought] to destroy the reputation of these whistleblowers forever.”

Related articles

• NYT: FDA Engaged in Widespread Spying on Whistleblowers | Common Dreams (2012indyinfo.com)
• FDA’s spying campaign wider than previously believed (my.firedoglake.com)
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• Vast FDA Surveillance of Scientists Spread to Outside Critics (prn.fm)
• Lawmakers question FDA surveillance operation (cbsnews.com)
• You: FDA Spied on Its Own Scientists (thedailybeast.com)
• Employee Surveillance at the FDA (pipeline.corante.com)
• FDA lawyers authorized spying on employees, senator says – The Washington Post (2012indyinfo.com)