Whistleblowing Pays

Today's news challenges the notion that whistleblowers always suffer. The IRS awarded $104 million to former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, for providing information about a tax evasion scheme. Here are a few quotes from Bloomberg:

Fraud or tax planning?

The WSJ reported today that seven people have been charged criminally with fraud for selling tax "products" for over a decade starting in 1994. Denis Field, former BDO Seidman, LLP chairman, was among the seven charged with fraud. Mr. Field's lawyer expressed his disappointment in the charges and stated that Mr. Field "always believed that the transactions at issue in the indictment were legitimate tax planning." Now, I don't know if BDO's tax products were fraudulent or not but saying Field always believed they were legitimate is about like an embezzler saying he always planned to pay back the money! I think Mr. Field may want to get a new attorney!