Chester Walsh, the whistle-blower who exposed the theft of millions of taxpayer dollars, has pocketed $2 million in reward money and expects to collect another $11.4 million in the next few months.
The path that led Walsh to this wealth of lottery-winning proportions was long and troubled.
Walsh had to accuse his employer of 25 years, General Electric, of massive fraud. He had to take on a powerful and popular Israeli general, Rami Dotan, who had conspired with GE executives.
Walsh felt compelled to flee his position in Israel, where he was a manager of jet engine contracts for GE. Seeking to avoid reprisals, he went to Switzerland, carrying with him carefully compiled documentation to support his allegations.
Back in this country, he has endured three years of litigation, which has not yet ended.
“This has taken quite a toll on my health,” Walsh said last week. “Right now, I just want to go someplace where it’s warm and quiet and think about it.”
Walsh has kept half of his reward. He has given the other half to his attorneys and Taxpayers Against Fraud, a private watchdog group that has helped him and other whistle-blowers. Walsh said he also planned to split the remaining $11.4 million he expects to receive from the case.
A federal judge in Cincinnati ruled on Dec. 4 that Walsh should receive $13.4 million of the $69 million that GE agreed to pay to settle claims by the government.
The company admitted that one of its former executives had conspired with Dotan to divert U.S. aid for Israel into their personal accounts.
Twenty other GE employees have been dismissed, demoted or reprimanded for abetting the diversion or looking the other way. Dotan, meanwhile, has been busted to private and sent to prison for 13 years in Israel.
A federal law gives whistle-blowers in such cases up to 25 percent of penalties collected.
“The Congress of the United States has determined that whistle-blowing should be encouraged by monetary rewards. This case is a classic example,” U.S. District Judge Carl B. Rubin said in his ruling.
The Justice Department is appealing the reward amount. It agreed to relinquish $2 million to Walsh while the rest is under appeal.
Walsh now divides his time between Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando while awaiting further court action and deciding where to settle.
“I hope whistle-blowers get the message,” he said. “The message is that the law works.”
