The Qui Tam Team Blog Join In the Fight Against Fraud

2009: A Big Year for Fraud Fighters

This post was written by Josh

Ethisphere Institute, a business ethics think-tank "dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability" has named the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics for 2009. This year, a pharmaceutical whistleblower tops the list, and a U.S. Senator committed to fighting fraud is in the top 20. The list also includes a whistleblower who filed a qui tam suit against Quest Diagnostics and the Nichols Institute.

John Kopchinksi is the whistleblower named as this year's most influential person in business ethics. Kopchinski was a Pfizer sales rep who, in 2003, filed a qui tam suit against the pharmaceutical behemoth. Kopchinski is a Gulf War vet who is honorable to the core. When Pfizer kept driving him to increase profits, no matter how many lives were put at risk, Kopchinksi stood his ground and refused to go along with the company's avaricious ways.

Pfizer eventually settled the qui tam suit with the Department of Justice for an eye-popping, record-obliterating $2.3 billion. The settlement was the largest in the history of the Department of Justice. Part of the suit was brought against Pfizer for off-label use marketing of its pain-killer Bextra. The FDA had approved Bextra for treatment of arthritis and menstrual pain in limited doses, but Pfizer pushed the drug for use at high doses which would put patients at risk of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. The lawsuit also alleged that Pfizer paid kickbacks to docs who prescribed Bextra for off-label uses.

For his role as a whistleblower, Kopchinski received $51.5 million. Ethisphere Institute gives him the praise he deserves, noting that Kopchinski "[o]fficially turned whistleblowing into big business."

Coming in at number 16 on the list of the 100 most influential people in business ethics is Iowa's very own Senator Chuck Grassley. An important component in Senator Grassley's mission to save taxpayer dollars is his support for whistleblowers. Despite our political differences, everyone should be able to agree that wasted tax dollars, whether through fraud or inefficiency, end up hurting all of us. As Senator Grassley sums it up on his website, "Every tax dollar lost to waste, fraud or abuse cheats the taxpaying public and prevents the federal government from serving the public good." (Read some of the numerous news articles concerning Senator Grassley's efforts to combat fraud here).

2009 turned out to be a big year for whistleblowers, but there is more work to be done. As the government continues to spend trillions on military campaigns, healthcare, bailouts, and other programs, there will be a steady supply of unscrupulous individuals and entities out there trying to commit fraud. It's up to whistleblowers to stand up and fight.