IRS, CFTC and Other Whistleblowers

Although SEC and qui tam are some of the more well-known whistleblower programs, several other programs exist that cover a broad range of areas where covert wrongdoing may occur. In each program, protections exist to prevent employers from retaliating against whistleblowers and, in some cases, these programs may even offer an award for high-quality, original information.

IRS and CFTC Whistleblower Programs

Several whistleblower programs exist that provide protections and provisions to whistleblowers in a broad range of trades, industries and other professions, including:

IRS Whistleblower: Established by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the IRS whistleblower program works with people who provide valuable, original information on “tax problems [that they discover] in their workplace, while conducting day-to-day personal business or anywhere else they may be encountered.” The IRS whistleblower program potentially awards between 15 and 30 percent of the total proceeds collected as the result of credible tips leading to a more than $2 million recovery, or recovery from an individual taxpayer with at least $200,000 in gross income.

Commodity Future Trading Commission Whistleblower: The CFTC whistleblower program awards those who provide original information regarding a violation of the Commodity Exchange Act—the federal act governing all commodities and futures trading activities—that leads to more than $1 million in penalty fines. The CFTC whistleblower program was established under the Dodd-Frank Act and provides a large degree of anonymity by treating the identity of whistleblowers as non-public and confidential information.