Given the vast offshore drilling operations worldwide and the drilling and transport within the United States, there is substantial opportunity for waste, fraud, and abuse across the oil and gas industry. As the industry increasingly faces new financial challenges as a result of climate change and the energy transition, the risk of large-scale fraud in the industry will also likely increase.
Whistleblowers play a powerful role in detecting and prosecuting fraud in the oil and gas industry. In recent years, a strong set of whistleblower laws had been enacted in the United States to enable whistleblowers around the world, including non-U.S. citizens, to report wrongdoing confidentially and to receive financial rewards for contributing to successful prosecutions.
The National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund (“Fund”) works with the National Whistleblower Center, and provides a secure intake form that allows whistleblowers to submit basic information about their case on a confidential basis.
NWC’s mission is to support whistleblowers in their efforts to expose and help prosecute corruption and other wrongdoing around the world.
Commonly Asked Questions.
Oil and gas whistleblowers come to us in a number of different way – as employees, ex-employees, consultants, auditors, and accountants. Please read the most commonly asked questions to get a better understanding of where you might stand.
Yes, whistleblowers have reported corruption, securities fraud, safety hazards, illegal pollution, and more. Whistleblowers Harrold Wright and Bobby Maxwell both received substantial rewards for blowing the whistle on oil royalties fraud.
Whistleblowers do not need to be employed by the company they’re blowing the whistle on. Most laws do not require companies to be headquartered in the U.S.
You should consult a whistleblowing attorney before reporting to a company hotline, even if it claims to be anonymous. Certain laws only protect whistleblowers who report to regulators.
Yes. Several laws, including the IRS whistleblower law and the Dodd-Frank Act allow auditors and accountants to qualify as whistleblowers.
An NDA does not necessarily prevent you from blowing the whistle, and restrictive agreements that claim to prevent you from reporting securities fraud to the SEC may be illegal.
The Frauds We Fight
Misleading Claims About Climate and ESG Risks
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement that will evaluate tips, referrals, and whistleblower complaints on ESG-related issues. Whistleblowers can report companies for misleading investors about their exposure to climate-related risks, about their transition or “net-zero” plans, or about their sustainability research and claims.
Inflated Oil and Gas Reserve Estimates
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires publicly listed fossil fuel companies to disclose estimates of reserves as supplemental information in their financial statements, but the process of reserve estimation is highly vulnerable to manipulation. Whistleblowers can use the SEC Whistleblower Program to confidentially report companies who engage in reserve manipulation schemes.
Royalty Underpayment Schemes
The False Claims Act prohibits fraud in connection with applications for permission to drill and related lease applications. Oil and gas whistleblowers have successfully used the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act to help the federal and state governments recover billions from oil companies for underpaying royalties, earning tens of millions in rewards for their efforts.
Hidden Pollution and Environmental Damage
To report concealed spills or false claims about natural gas flaring, whistleblowers can use the False Claims Act. With the Dodd-Frank Act, whistleblowers can report false claims about asset retirement obligations or attempts to fraudulently spin-off liabilities into smaller, underfunded companies. Whistleblowers with knowledge of oil spills from mobile drilling rigs may also be able to report through another strong whistleblower law, the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
Fraudulent Manipulation of Oil and Gas Futures
Whistleblowers around the world can use the CFTC Whistleblower Program to confidentially report manipulative and deceptive schemes in connection with commodities, futures or swaps, including attempts to manipulate oil and gas prices.
Foreign Bribery and Money Laundering
Whistleblowers around the world can use the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to report corruption and the use of falsified documents to conceal bribes or accounting schemes designed to hide improper payments. Whistleblowers around the world with evidence of money laundering can use the U.S. IRS whistleblower program or the Anti-Money Laundering Act to report money laundering and illicit financial flows, while protecting their identities and qualifying for a financial reward.
Fierce Allies.
Against the Toughest Opponents.
Our team consists of leading whistleblower attorneys who’ve fought and won the largest cases in history. We have the resources, experience, and know how to successfully walk each and every whistleblower down the path of least resistance while protecting their identity.
CHIEF COUNSEL
Sharon Y. Eubanks
Sharon Y. Eubanks began her legal career with the Federal Trade Commission, litigating antitrust cases. In 1983, she joined the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, where she handled both trial and appellate cases exclusively in federal court. From 1983-1999, Sharon worked in the Commercial Litigation Branch and handled in federal court defensive litigation in commercial matters involving government contracts, construction, Fifth Amendment takings, and federal employment appellate cases. She personally briefed and argued over 150 appeals. Sharon supervised over 125 lawyers handling defensive litigation as Deputy Director in the Commercial Litigation Branch.
The Laws that Reward and Protect Oil & Gas Whistleblowers.
The Steps to Anonymously Report Fraud in Oil & Gas
STEP 1
Security & Privacy
If you are using your company computer or smartphone right now, exit this website immediately and come back using a personal computer connected to a VPN. Be sure your devices are not connected to your company network and that you have absolute privacy. You may even decide to report fraud from a public computer, or one that is not associated with your name at all.
STEP 2
Summarize The Fraudulent Activity
Before submitting an intake, please spend some time preparing documents which outline the fraud or misconduct in greater detail. This will help us quickly understand what your case is about, and also help us ask the right questions during the interview process. You don’t have to include all of this information in the intake, but you should have it ready.
STEP 3
Submit an Intake
Once you’ve created an outline and feel that you’re ready to talk, complete our intake form below to speak confidentially with an attorney. When submitting your intake, please use a new email address not associated with your name, which you have access to. Do not use any identifiable information that could lead back to you – this means first name, last name, personal email, telephone number, computer, network, or IP address.
Submit an Intake
Your communications are secured and sent over 256-bit SSL encryption. Protect your identity and confidentiality, do not use any devices owned or controlled by a private corporation or governmental entity. It is also recommended to protect your online identity by establishing a new email account that does not identify you and to avoid the use of other online platforms that may disclose your identity.