• Government
  • Legislation
  • False Claims
  • Corporate
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC
    • Sarbanes-Oxley
  • OSHA
  • Environment
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home Government

Pay-to-Play Pardons? Trump Ally Offered IRS Whistleblower “Assistance” for Over $1 Million

Geoff SchwellerbyGeoff Schweller
February 11, 2021
in IRS & Tax
Reading Time: 4min read
0
Trump Pardon
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

In December, Whistleblower Network News posted an opinion piece titled “Bradley Birkenfeld Deserves a Presidential Pardon.” The piece argues that Birkenfeld, the IRS whistleblower credited with ending the illegal Swiss banking system, deserves a presidential pardon based on the bravery of his whistleblowing and the great service he did the American people. According to new reports, Birkenfeld was offered the chance to receive a pardon in the final months of the Trump administration. However, the pardon was not based on merit – instead, assistance in obtaining the pardon was allegedly offered in exchange for over a million dollars.

According to The Atlantic, Jason Osborne, a business colleague of Donald Trump’s close ally Corey Lewandowski, told Birkenfeld that he and Lewandowksi would work to secure Birkenfeld a pardon from then-President Trump in exchange for a hefty fee. Osborne reportedly requested $300,000 up front and another $1,000,000 if the pardon was obtained. Birkenfeld claims Osborne made the offer following a chance encounter in November 2020 in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Birkenfeld further asserts that Lewandowksi made a subsequent offer during a phone call with an associate of Birkenfeld in which Lewandowksi upped the initial fee to $500,000 and claimed he was meeting with then-President Trump the next day to discuss pardons. 

Birkenfeld told The Atlantic “he rejected both offers as ‘shakedowns.’” Birkenfeld did aggressively pursue a presidential pardon from Trump through other avenues and with the pro-bono assistance of a team of Washington insiders and influential conservatives. However, Birkenfeld was not among the approximately 240 pardons and commutations ordered by Trump. These pardons have come under the scrutiny of several media outlets, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, which claim that a vast majority of the pardons “were a product of connections, influence and money.”

Birkenfeld is a former banker and wealth manager at UBS bank in Switzerland where he assisted wealthy Americans in hiding their assets in Swiss bank accounts. In 2007, Birkenfeld voluntarily approached U.S. authorities with information on the illegal tax shelters run by UBS. His whistleblower disclosures led directly to a $780 million settlement in which UBS and the Swiss government also agreed to turn over the names of thousands of Americans suspected of tax evasion. Overall, Birkenfeld’s disclosures led to the recovery of over $25 billion from U.S. taxpayers illegally utiling undeclared offshore accounts.

Through the IRS Whistleblower Program, Birkenfeld received a $104 million whistleblower award – at the time the largest whistleblower award ever issued to an individual by the U.S. government. However, because Birkenfeld initially made his disclosure to Justice Department prosecutors who did not consider him a “whistleblower,” he was arrested and convicted on a single count of conspiracy for his role in assisting a billionaire client in tax evasion. Birkenfeld served two and half years in prison. It is for this felony conviction that Birkenfeld has sought a pardon.

Read:
A Million-Dollar Pardon Offer at the Trump Hotel

Opinion: Bradley Birkenfeld Deserves a Presidential Pardon

Whistleblower of the Week: Bradley Charles Birkenfeld

Protect Yourself: Purchase the New Whistleblower Handbook Protect Yourself: Purchase the New Whistleblower Handbook Protect Yourself: Purchase the New Whistleblower Handbook
Tags: Bradley BirkenfeldIRS & Tax
Geoff Schweller

Geoff Schweller

Geoff Schweller is a contributing editor with Whistleblower Network News and writes about breaking whistleblower news, SEC whistleblowers, IRS whistleblowers, and CFTC whistleblowers. Geoff graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in Sociology and minors in French & Francophone Studies and Cinema & New Media Studies. While at Hamilton, Geoff was awarded an Emerson Foundation Grant to conduct an independent summer research project on representations of place in ethnographic film.

Write a Letter to The Editor.

Most Popular

OSHA Investigating Whistleblower Retaliation Complaints Under 2 New Laws  

New SEC Notices of Covered Actions Include Deutsche Bank Foreign Bribery Case

Man in the Middle: Alan Levy Makes Peace when Whistleblowing Turns Ugly

OSHA Orders Company to Reinstate Two Whistleblower Truck Drivers

SEC Issues $5 Million Award to Whistleblowers Located Abroad

Leading Whistleblower Attorney: The CFTC Whistleblower Program is in Crisis Because of Its Success

Whistleblower Poll

Increased Whistleblower Protections
Legislation

Candidate’s Position on Increased Whistleblower Protections Influences 44% of Likely Voters

byAna Popovich
October 6, 2020

Protect Yourself: Buy the New Whistleblower Handbook Protect Yourself: Buy the New Whistleblower Handbook Protect Yourself: Buy the New Whistleblower Handbook
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED. Sign up for daily whistleblower email and social notifications from the Whistleblower Network News.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Qui Tam

  • Dodd-Frank
  • IRS & Tax
  • SEC
  • Foreign Corruption
  • False Claims-Qui Tam

Retaliation

  • OSHA
  • Sarbanes-Oxley

Government

  • Government
  • Intelligence
  • Legislation
  • Veterans

Features

  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Editorial
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Opinion

Resources

  • FAQs
  • National Whistleblower Day
  • National Whistleblower Center
  • Whistleblower Handbook
Whistleblower Network News

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. 

Submit an Article
  • ABOUT
  • ADVERTISE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • CAREERS
  • CONTACT

Copyright © 2021, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the lawyer or law firm publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

No Result
View All Result
  • Government
  • Legislation
  • False Claims
  • Corporate
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC
    • Sarbanes-Oxley
  • OSHA
  • Environment
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Login

Copyright © 2020, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
OR

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Go to mobile version