Support Whistleblowers

As part of our #GivingTuesday campaign this year, the National Whistleblower Center is highlighting the stories of several whistleblowers who spoke at the 2019 National Whistleblower Day celebration.

Sherron Watkins, Enron whistleblower

Sherron Watkins is the former Enron Vice President who wrote a now infamous memo in the summer of 2001 to then-CEO Kenneth Lay warning him about improper accounting methods.

At the time, Enron was one of the largest corporations in the U.S. and a giant in the energy-trading and utilities field. Fortune had named it “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six consecutive years. However, Watkins’ memo revealed that the company’s finances were sustained by systemic accounting fraud and corruption.

Enron was forced to declare bankruptcy in late 2001, and she was called to testify before both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate about the accounting irregularities that she had found in the financial statements. 
Continue Reading The memo that brought down Enron

As part of our #GivingTuesday campaign this year, the National Whistleblower Center is highlighting the stories of several whistleblowers who spoke at the 2019 National Whistleblower Day celebration.

Eugene “Gene” Ross is a former Bear Stearns employee who uncovered the Amerindo Investment Advisor fraud in September 2004.

The principals of Amerindo – Alberto Vilar and Gary Tanaka – misappropriated at least $5 million from a client and made false and misleading statements. In November 2008, they were convicted for defrauding investors.

Gene was a witness for the Department of Justice and testified at the trial; an internal memo he wrote documenting the fraud was also used as evidence.

Because Gene blew the whistle, Vilar and Tanaka went to prison. The Amerindo victims got most of their money back. Without him, none of this would have happened.

But his honesty came at a price – Gene was heavily retaliated against by Bear Stearns. He was chastised, fired, and sued. In 2010, he was forced to declare personal bankruptcy.Continue Reading Retaliated against for exposing massive fraud

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. #GivingTuesday

Washington, D.C.  November 1, 2016. The National Whistleblower Center will once again participate in #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and celebrate generosity worldwide. #GivingTuesday is a collaborative effort to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. The NWC’s end-of-year campaign theme, #BecauseOfWBs, highlights the indispensible role of whistleblowers in combating corruption and fraud in a variety of sectors—including international banking, national security, wildlife trafficking, and government contracting.Continue Reading The National Whistleblower Center Launches its #GivingTuesday Campaign: #BecauseOfWBs

National Whistleblower Day celebrates the contributions of all whistleblowers.

Recently, the National Whistleblower Center published a post on its Facebook page about the Senate’s Proclamation of July 30th, 2016 as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day. This post has received tremendous response with over 2,300 likes, 521 shares and over 300 comments. Much of the response was supportive, but others question the sincerity of celebrating July 30th as National Whistleblower Day given how badly national security whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning have been treated.Continue Reading Celebrate Whistleblower Day

Washington, D.C. December 22, 2015. The National Whistleblower Center, a Washington, D.C. based whistleblower advocacy group, released its 2015 Year in Review today.

The National Whistleblower Center’s 2015 Year in Review highlights the organizations top 10 accomplishments of 2015. The list of highlights includes the first Congressional celebration of National Whistleblower Day, SEC sanctions against

ReportCoverIn a review posted today on the National Whistleblower Center website, the whistleblower protection advocacy group thanked it’s supporters and gave a report of the work it accomplished in 2014.

The review thanks the members of the NWC’s Action Alert Network citing the actions taken by the members as resulting in several successful Action Alerts.

Washington, D.C.  November 24, 2014. The National Whistleblower Center is participating in the third annual #GivingTuesday.  #GivingTuesday is a collaborative effort to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday aims to inspire people to take action to give back in better, smarter ways to the causes they support and help create a better world.

Taking place December 2, 2014 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.

The National Whistleblower Center, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, has a more than 20 year history of protecting the rights of individuals to speak out about wrongdoing in the workplace without fear of retaliation. The National Whistleblower Center has joined with the #GivingTuesday movement to collaborate with the more than 10,000 organizations in their giving efforts to create more meaningful results.
Continue Reading National Whistleblower Center Joins National #GivingTuesday To Encourage Spending With A Purpose