• Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • Whistleblower Resources
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
SIGN THE PETITION FOR NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY IN 2023
Whistleblower Network News
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • Whistleblower Resources
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home False Claims-Qui Tam

Whistleblower Seeks Supreme Court Review in Controversial Iraqi War Defense Contracting Fraud Case

Mary Jane WilmothbyMary Jane Wilmoth
November 26, 2014
in False Claims-Qui Tam, News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

Appeals Court Decision Permitting KBR to Keep Secret Documents Containing Evidence of Millions of Dollars in Fraud Against the U.S. Taxpayers Challenged

Washington, D.C. November 25, 2014. A whistleblower who formerly worked for the giant defense contractor, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of a highly controversial ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit permitting corporations to hide documentation of fraud obtained in internal corporate compliance investigations.

The petition, filed yesterday, seeks to overturn an appeals court ruling permitting KBR to keep secret internal investigatory records that contain evidence of millions of dollars in defense contracting fraud committed during the War in Iraq.

Support Whistleblower Network News

In the case KBR initially forced its employees to sign gag orders prohibiting them from releasing any information concerning contracting fraud without the approval of KBR’s attorneys. Employees were informed, in writing, that violating the gag order could result in their being fired. However, the whistleblower in this case, Mr. Harry Barko, challenged the frauds and filed a federal lawsuit under the False Claims Act. The lawsuit, if successful, will require KBR to repay the federal government three-times the amount of all monies fraudulently charged or overpaid.

At issue in the appeal is whether company records, containing evidence of fraud, can be released by order of a trial judge, or whether corporations can immediately appeal and seek suppression of the evidence. In this case the trial judge ordered KBR to release the documents. However, an appeals court in Washington D.C. reversed that decision, permitting KBR to suppress the evidence that fraud was committed. The Supreme Court petition challenges the procedures used to overturn the trial court’s discovery order, the gag orders employees were forced to sign, and the decision of the appeals court to suppress the evidence.

Stephen M. Kohn, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center and one of Mr. Barko’s attorneys, issued the following statement:

“At stake in this case is the integrity of internal corporate compliance programs. The issue is simple: a compliance program is not a cover-up program. If companies are permitted to gag employees who try to report fraud and prevent the release of evidence proving fraud and misconduct, taxpayers will lose billions of dollars to greedy and corrupt contractors.”

“The taxpayer is the loser when multibillion dollar government contractors can commit fraud, gag employees and thus hide fraud and misconduct behind a feigned claim of attorney-client privilege,” Kohn added.

KBR has 30 days to file a response to the petition.

Related links:

  • The whistleblower’s Supreme Court petition.
  • United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton Co. et al., No. 1:05-CV-1276 (D.D.C.), March 6, 2014 order (first order of the district court ordering production of the KBR documents that demonstrate KBR’s fraud against the taxpayer).
  • In re: Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., et al, June 27, 2014 order of the Appeals Court upholding KBR’s claim of attorney client privilege and suppressing the release of the information.
Tags: Corporate WhistleblowersFalse Claims/Qui TamKBRWhistleblower Rewards
Previous Post

Nearly $6 Billion Recovered Using False Claims Act In 2014

Next Post

November 2014 SEC Whistleblower Award List

Mary Jane Wilmoth

Mary Jane Wilmoth

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).

Next Post

November 2014 SEC Whistleblower Award List

Please login to join discussion

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

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

Most Popular

US Attorneys Reflect on UK’s Whistleblowing Awareness Week

OSHA Highlights Railroad Worker Whistleblower Protections in Wake of Train Derailments

AML Whistleblower Law Could Shift the Way DOJ Handles Whistleblowers

Two Powerful Women Whistleblower Pairs to Learn From This Women’s History Month

WNN Exclusive Interview with Social Security Whistleblowers Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith — Part 2

Change the Culture, Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

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

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • The Whistleblowers Handbook
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
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

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

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the 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.

SIGN THE PETITION FOR NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY IN 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook
  • National Whistleblower Day ’23

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

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

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

Subscribe to WNN

Add New Playlist

Go to mobile version