Types of Whistleblower Cases

Published by The Click Lab Agency LLC. Last reviewed September 2026. Not legal advice.

Each federal whistleblower program covers a specific category of violations. Understanding which program covers your information — and whether multiple programs might apply to the same conduct — is a threshold question for evaluating your potential award. Some fraud schemes involve violations across multiple programs simultaneously; an attorney can help structure a claim to maximize the applicable coverage.

Securities Fraud (SEC Whistleblower Program)

The SEC Whistleblower Program covers violations of the federal securities laws, which span a wide range of conduct. Reportable violations include: accounting fraud and financial statement manipulation (inflating revenues, understating liabilities, improper revenue recognition); insider trading by corporate insiders, tipper-tippee chains, or market participants with material non-public information; market manipulation schemes including spoofing, layering, and wash trading; Ponzi and pyramid schemes; investment adviser fraud (misappropriating client assets, undisclosed conflicts of interest, false performance claims); foreign bribery by U.S.-listed companies or their subsidiaries under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issuer provision, 15 U.S.C. §78dd-1; offering fraud in connection with securities sales; and failures to comply with regulatory requirements by broker-dealers, investment advisers, and other registered entities. The award statute is 15 U.S.C. §78u-6.

The SEC has paid over $2 billion in awards since the program launched in 2012. The largest individual awards have exceeded $200 million for single whistleblowers whose tips led to major enforcement actions. The size of the award depends on the sanctions collected — which in large securities fraud cases can reach into the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars — as well as the whistleblower's contribution quality and cooperation.

Commodity and Derivatives Fraud (CFTC Whistleblower Program)

The CFTC Whistleblower Program covers violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, including: manipulation of commodity prices (physical commodities such as oil, gas, and agricultural products, as well as futures and derivatives on those commodities); spoofing and layering in futures markets (entering orders with intent to cancel before execution to create false impressions of market activity); fraud in the offer or sale of commodity interests; registration violations by commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators, and futures commission merchants; and swap dealer compliance failures. The award rules are in 17 C.F.R. Part 165. The structure mirrors the SEC program.

Tax Fraud (IRS Whistleblower Program)

The IRS Whistleblower Office mandatory program under IRC §7623(b) covers substantial tax fraud involving more than $2 million in dispute. Reportable conduct includes: large-scale individual tax evasion, particularly involving offshore accounts and unreported foreign income; abusive corporate tax shelters and transactions lacking economic substance; transfer pricing manipulation by multinational corporations to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions; failure to file required information returns or FBAR reports for foreign financial accounts; and tax fraud facilitation by promoters of fraudulent tax schemes. The IRS program has produced some of the largest individual whistleblower awards in history — including a $104 million award to Bradley Birkenfeld for information about UBS's facilitation of offshore tax evasion. The program's central limitation is the requirement that the IRS actually collect the taxes before an award is paid, which can take many years even after a successful audit finding.

Government Contractor Fraud (False Claims Act)

The False Claims Act covers fraud against the federal government in any context where someone submits or causes the submission of a false claim for payment. The Department of Justice publishes the recovery figures. The healthcare sector generates the majority of those recoveries: pharmaceutical companies paying kickbacks to physicians who prescribe their drugs, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute; hospitals and physicians billing Medicare and Medicaid for services not rendered, devices billed but not used, or upcoded procedures. Defense contractor fraud includes overbilling for parts and labor, billing for work not performed, and cost misallocation. Other significant categories include grant fraud (misrepresenting how federal grant funds are used), customs fraud (underpaying import duties), government-backed mortgage fraud, and research misconduct involving federal research grants. The statute imposes treble damages plus a civil penalty per false claim. The penalty dollar range is adjusted for inflation; the current figures are in the statute and the annual adjustment, not a fixed number this page should freeze. Since 1986, DOJ has reported recoveries exceeding $75 billion under the Act. Use the Department's page for the latest total rather than this sentence if the two differ.

Anti-Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act Violations (FinCEN Whistleblower Program)

The FinCEN whistleblower program, under 31 U.S.C. §5323, covers violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering requirements. Reportable conduct includes: failure by financial institutions to file Suspicious Activity Reports for reportable transactions; failure to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program; structuring transactions to avoid reporting requirements; and sanctions evasion by a financial institution or its customers. Awards are 10%–30% of sanctions exceeding $1 million. The program is newer than the SEC and CFTC programs and, as of 2026, has produced fewer awards. It is a separate filing from an SEC or IRS tip. The calculator does not model it.

State False Claims Acts

More than 30 states have their own false claims acts, modeled on the federal statute. They cover fraud on state programs, especially the state share of Medicaid, which is a different pot of money from the federal share the federal Act reaches. Award percentages, seal practice, and anti-retaliation rules are state statutes, and they are not uniform. In many healthcare cases a complaint pleads the federal Act and one or more state acts together. California, New York, Illinois, and Texas are among the states with active dockets. This site does not restate those state codes. Read the state statute, or have a lawyer do it, before relying on the federal percentages for a state claim.

See the how awards work guide or use the calculator to estimate your potential award.