FIRREA

The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act, or FIRREA, passed following the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, permits the Department of Justice to sue federally insured financial institutions for wrongful acts including wire and mail fraud, embezzlement, illegal gifts, bookkeeping violations, and false statements in loan applications.  Whistleblowers can bring claims under FIRREA pursuant to a companion statues, the Financial Institutions Anti-Fraud Enforcement Act, or FIAFEA.  12 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.  Key features of the FIRREA/FIAFEA whistleblower program are:

• A FIAFEA whistleblower may receive a reward of 20 percent to 30 percent of the first $1,000,000 recovered, 10 percent to 20 percent of the next $4,000,000 recovered, and 5 percent to 10 percent of the next $5,000,000 recovered, up to a maximum of $1.6 million.
• To submit a FIRREA whistleblower claim under FIAFEA, the whistleblower must submit a confidential declaration, under oath, setting forth a specific set of facts about the alleged fraud.
• The declaration cannot be based on information that has been publicly disclosed, unless the declarant is the original source of that information.

This description of the elements and procedures of the FIRREA Whistleblower Program is general in nature.  The FIRREA Whistleblower Program and the law surrounding it is complex.  The whistleblower attorneys of Constantine Cannon understand the complicated, constantly changing landscape of state and federal whistleblower laws. If you would like more information or would like to speak to a member of Constantine Cannon’s whistleblower lawyer team, please Contact us for a Confidential Consultation.