Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. We will focus on the SEC, IRS, and Commodities whistleblower programs, qui tam and False Claims Act litigation, and critical anti-corruption programs, such as cases filed by the Department of Justice under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Whistleblower Network News covers national and international legal developments and publishes editorial and opinion articles on whistleblowing and compliance issues.
History
In 2007, the National Whistleblower Legal Defense & Education Fund (“Fund”) started The Whistleblower Protection Blog on this URL. The purpose of the blog was to disseminate information to help whistleblowers. During this time, the blog was also tied to the National Whistleblower Center to help publicize its policy campaigns. In 2020, the Fund decided to transform the blog into an independent newspaper, not directly linked to an NGO, to increase its circulation and impact. WNN will still publicize the work of the NWC, but that will mostly be in sections of the newspaper dedicated to “opinion” or “features.” WNN’s goal is to develop a strong reputation as an authoritative news source on whistleblower related issues. This transformation permits the leading experts on whistleblower advocacy a better platform from which to educate and inform the public.
Whistleblower Network News strives to be the thought engine for whistleblower issues worldwide and capitalize on its contributors’ legal expertise. It’s the goal of WNN to be the best source of information on reporting government misconduct and foreign corruption and to be an essential source on qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and other whistleblower law developments. WNN’s focus is on the SEC, IRS, and Commodities whistleblower anti-fraud programs, qui tam, and False Claims Act whistleblower cases, the rights of government employees to report abuses of authority and violations of law. WNN will also focus on critical anti-corruption programs, such as cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which now covers whistleblowers from around the world who report bribery of government officials by multinational corporations.
Guest Submissions and Press Releases
WNN welcomes guest articles that comply with our editorial requirements.
Please feel free to provide us with information and press releases on significant developments, both within the United States and internationally, on whistleblowing, compliance, anti-corruption, qui tam, and other matters of interest to whistleblowers and those engaged in anti-corruption/compliance activities.
To submit press releases or guest submissions, please email contact@whistleblowernewsnetwork.com. If you are a whistleblower looking for legal assistance you can contact the National Whistleblower Legal Defense & Education Fund here: https://whistleblowersblog.org/resources-for-locating-an-attorney/.
Advertising
Support Whistleblower Network News by advertising. We seek sponsors whose message is consistent with the whistleblower and anti-corruption focus of this newspaper. You can make a tax-exempt donation to our fiscal sponsor. If you are interested in supporting Whistleblower Network News, please email contact@whistleblowernewsnetwork.com.
Staff
Mary Jane Wilmoth, Editor & Publisher
Mary Jane Wilmoth is the publisher of Whistleblower Network News, where she heads the editorial staff. She writes about breaking whistleblower news, and False Claims Act whistleblowers, SEC whistleblowers, IRS whistleblowers, FCPA whistleblowers, and CFTC whistleblowers. Mary Jane is the managing partner at the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, and a frequent contributor to The Whistleblower and Qui Tam Blog. She is a licensed attorney in the District of Columbia and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center).
Geoff Schweller, Assistant News Editor
Geoff Schweller is the Assistant News Editor for Whistleblower Network News. He coordinates news coverage, and also writes about breaking whistleblower news, SEC whistleblowers, IRS whistleblowers, CFTC whistleblowers, and federal employee whistleblowers. Geoff graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in Sociology and minors in French & Francophone Studies and Cinema & New Media Studies.
Jane Turner, Contributing Editor, Whistleblower of the Week
Jane Turner, the acclaimed host of the Whistleblower of the Week (WOW), a column and podcast produced by Whistleblower Network News, is a passionate advocate. Her show, WOW, explores the experiences of whistleblowers worldwide and discusses legal developments with whistleblower advocates. Turner, a former FBI whistleblower, is a highly decorated 25-year veteran Special Agent who changed the FBI forever. She serves on the Board of Directors for Accountability FBI and the Board of Directors of the National Whistleblower Center. She is also a member of the NWC’s Whistleblower Leadership Council, where she actively promotes whistleblower rights.
Siri Nelson, Editor & Legislative Correspondent
Siri Nelson is the Whistleblower Network News’s Editorial Page Editor & Legislative Correspondent. Siri is currently an Associate at Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto (“KKC”), where she serves as the firm’s Policy Counsel. In this role, she played a key role in drafting multiple comments to the SEC on their proposed rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act whistleblower law. Siri is the recipient of the 2019 Estelle Kohn Fellow Memorial Fellowship awarded by Northeastern University School of Law. She served her fellowship at KKC, where she worked extensively with regulators and thought leaders to foster public awareness of whistleblower protections and fortify those protections through legislative action. She is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law.
Kate Reeves, Reporter
Kate Reeves is a reporter with Whistleblower Network News, where she writes about a variety of breaking whistleblower news topics. Kate is currently a Public Interest Law Clerk at the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn, & Colapinto. She graduated cum laude from Georgetown University in May 2023, earning a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service with honors in her major, Culture & Politics.
Victoria Turner, Reporter & Assistant Podcast Producer
Victoria Turner is a Reporter for WNN. She assists with research and writing for the Whistleblower of the Week column and writes follow-up stories on those featured. As the daughter of FBI Whistleblower, Jane Turner, she brings a unique perspective to her articles. Being surrounded her entire life by whistleblowers, their allies, and attorneys gave her an exclusive look into the whistleblowing world. In 2017, Victoria participated in an internship with the whistleblower law firm of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto. She has also interned several times with the National Whistleblower Center, where she was an integral part of its National Whistleblower Day Celebrations from 2015 to 2019. Victoria is currently completing her degree in Communications, after which she plans to continue her work with whistleblowers, as she finds the work rewarding.
Senior Fellows
Sherron Watkins, Senior Fellow for Ethics and Policy
Sherron is better known as the Enron whistleblower. She speaks around the globe to a broad range of audiences about ethics, flawed leadership, and the toxic label of whistleblower. Sherron was employed for over two decades as an executive for three large global companies, the accounting firm Arthur Andersen, Metallgessellschaft AG, the German metals giant, and Enron Corp. All were multi-billion dollar multinational companies brought down by scandal. Sherron has seen firsthand the cost of an erosion in values.
Watkins now lectures on leadership and ethics as the Executive-in-Residence at the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University and as Professor of the Practice at Kenan Flagler at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her journey through the Enron crisis has inspired many, and has crystallized her focus to improve the lot of whistleblowers and would-be whistleblowers.
Scott Hajost, Senior Fellow for Environmental and Wildlife Protection
Scott Hajost is the Chairman, Thinking Animals United. He is an international environment and conservation policy and law expert and manager with over 36 years working with the US Government, NGOs, multilateral institutions and leading global environment and development projects.
He is currently the Senior Wildlife Policy Advisor at the National Whistleblower Center. Most recently, he was the Chief of Party for the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, a global initiative of USAID in partnership with National Geographic, the Smithsonian and TRAFFIC. Prior to that, he was the Chief of Party for the global USAID funded Forest Carbon, Markets and Communities (FCMC) Program.
Mr. Hajost started his career as a US State Department lawyer working on international environmental and oceans issues, including negotiating international agreements. He subsequently served as Acting Associate Administrator for International Activities at USEPA. He was the first EPA Associate General Counsel for International Activities before leaving the government to become the International Counsel at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). After EDF, he served almost 15 years as the Executive Director of the IUCN USA Multilateral Office, including overseeing the IUCN UN mission and relations with the UN. After his work at the IUCN, he was Senior Counsel at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) before taking over as head of FCMC.
Among other things, Mr. Hajost is vice-chair of the board of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), senior adviser to the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the US IUCN National Committee.
Editorial Advisory Board
David Colapinto is a founder of the National Whistleblower Center and serves as its General Counsel. He is a nationally recognized Qui Tam litigator and founding partner in the whistleblower law firm of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, LLP. He specializes in Qui Tam/False Claims Act, Dodd-Frank Act, and IRS whistleblower claims. He was lead counsel for the whistleblower in the qui tam action against Bristol-Myers Squibb, helping to recover more than $500 million for U.S. taxpayers in one of the most important pharmaceutical whistleblower case filed under the False Claims Act. As co-counsel in the Bradley Birkenfeld case, he won the largest ever tax whistleblower award ($104 million). He is the co-author of Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees.
Stephen M. Kohn is one of the nation’s leading whistleblower attorneys. A founding director of the NWC, he is the author of eight books on whistleblower law, including The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself (Lyons Press, 3rd Edition 2017).
He is a practicing whistleblower attorney and serves pro bono as the Chairman of the Board of the National Whistleblower Center. Stephen is a partner in the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto. His primary litigation focus includes representing international whistleblowers under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, tax fraud whistleblowers, qui tam reward laws, the False Claims Act, SEC whistleblowers and IRS whistleblowers. In 2012, the firm obtained the largest qui tam whistleblower reward given to a single individual in history ($104 million to UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld), and he represents Danske Bank Whistleblower Howard Wilkinson.
For speaking requests, requests for comments, or general questions about whistleblowing, you can reach Steve at sk@whistleblowers.org.
