There is a national war going between the whistleblowers and the US government right now. On January 5, two lawyers were fined 1.6 million dollars for talking to the reporters, as the case was under seal and investigation was going on by the US Justice Department. The U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg has given the order to both by lawyers to pay the fine within 75 days of her order.
In 2008, these two lawyers from whistleblowers had sued some of the National banks because they had defrauded the US government in handling the case of the veteran’s mortgages. They had successfully defeated a lot of banks and have reached the settlement of about $161 million, from which they have received of about $45 million to date. The fines charged to both the lawyers of whistleblowers, because of their action of talking to the reporters, has created a dispute between the US government and the two whistleblower lawyers who were fighting for the allegation legal case in the favor of the government.
The lawyers who have been fined have claimed that they have not spoken about the sealed case, but they have simply lashed out against the federal prosecutors who are against their clients. Even Jim Butler, who is the legal team representative of the former mortgage brokers Brain Donnelly and Victor Bibby, has stated in the court paper that the government has done something or said something in this case when it gets the opportunity to hurt the people who have actually went far and has secured more than $161 million as a recovery for the government itself.
The frustration of Butler can be seen very clearly against the government prosecutors, who have stated not to take up the whistleblower lawyers for the surviving litigation against Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc., who are still fighting the case of the allegations from the year 2008. Wells Fargo has appealed the Judge Amy Totenberg to dismiss them from allegation case and the federal prosecutors has appealed to her, to fine them $2.7 million for talking to the media, but still they acknowledged that their action haven’t harmed the case in any way. Butler has appealed to the judge to fine them after the allegation case is concluded, but Judge Amy Totenberg has ordered them to pay the fine with 75 days and it has boiled up the atmosphere a great deal.