Michael A. Sullivan is an attorney with more than 25 years of experience who represents whistleblowers worldwide in qui tam litigation under the False Claims Act and state False Claims Acts, in the IRS Whistleblower Program, and in the new SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs.
Mr. Sullivan is a former federal prosecutor in the Independent Counsel investigation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including the prosecution of former Secretary of the Interior James Watt. He has also defended businesses and individuals in white collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, including financial fraud and tax investigations.
Mr. Sullivan has worked with the False Claims Act since the late 1980s and has both defended and prosecuted cases under the False Claims Act. He has represented physicians and other medical professionals, accountants, business executives, financial professionals, and other persons who seek to expose and stop fraud and other financial violations. He is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences on the False Claims Act. At the request of legislators, Mr. Sullivan assisted in the drafting of the 2007 Georgia State False Medicaid Claims Act, and he testified in each legislative hearing to explain the Act. He also had a major role in drafting Georgia's Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act.
Since the beginning of the new IRS Whistleblower Program, Mr. Sullivan has also represented IRS whistleblowers in submissions totaling billions of dollars. He has also worked with the IRS Whistleblower Office staff to plan and present programs on pursuing tax whistleblower claims, such as presentations at the annual IRS Whistleblower Boot Camp in Washington, D.C. In 2009, he published an interview with IRS Whistleblower Office Director Stephen A. Whitlock on "Best Practices in Pursuing IRS Whistleblower Claims" in the False Claims Act & Qui Tam Quarterly Review.
In 2009 and again in 2010, staff members of a U.S. Senate Committee contacted and consulted Mr. Sullivan to discuss how the new SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act should operate. He has also met with the SEC and CFTC Chairmen and senior staff to discuss the proposed rules for SEC and CFTC Whistleblower claims.
Mr. Sullivan is also the founder of the "Whistleblower Law Symposium" in Atlanta, which brings together government officials and national practitioners to discuss developments in pursuing and defending whistleblower cases under the False Claims Act, the IRS Whistleblower Program, and the new SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs. He is also the co-author of a leading whistleblower blog.