While American troops are engaged in combat operations in Iraq,
American businessmen are actively involved in projects to rebuild
and reestablish an economy for that Middle Eastern nation. For some
companies, the altruistic goal of improving the lives of Iraqis may
be sufficient, but for other companies, the bottom line is money
--- large amounts of money. GIANT KILLERS: The Team and the Law
That Help Whistle-blowers Recover America's Stolen Billions, by
Henry Scammell, is both an historical and anecdotal look at those
individuals and enterprises that steal from the American government
and its citizens under the guise of government contracts. At the
same time it is an interesting and thorough explanation of the
legal remedies long in existence that enable private citizens to
institute private lawsuits to recover money swindled from the
government.

War profiteering is as American as apple pie. In every war fought
in our nation's history and in private defense department
procurement, examples of fraud abound. In response to blatant
fraud, corruption and shoddy materials produced during the Civil
War, Congress enacted the False Claims Act, legislation that
offered financial incentives to private citizens who took action
against individuals and companies that were stealing from the
government. The goal of the law was to make integrity almost as
profitable as theft. In an era where there was no effective
mechanism for national investigation of criminal activity or
federal legal prosecution of such conduct, Congress was forced to
rely on the ancient legal doctrine, Qui tam. This doctrine,
a product of the English Common Law, recognized that a citizen
could sue on behalf of the government.

The False Claims Act lay moribund for many years until Congress
strengthened and revised the Act in 1986. As a result of changes in
the whistleblower law, a person exposing contractual misdeeds can
receive up to 25% of funds recovered from proof of misconduct by
those dealing with the government. Scammell calculates that over $6
billion has been recovered since the law was modified in the
'80s.

GIANT KILLERS is more than the saga of private citizens rooting out
government corruption. The False Claims Act was strengthened
through the efforts of political forces from all sides of the
political spectrum. Liberal politicians, conservative colleagues
and public interest lawyers joined together to enact legislation.
Once enacted, the new law created a cottage industry of law firms
that specialized in litigation to recover misspent federal funds.
The contingent nature of the litigation, with its potential for
enormous legal fees, attracted many lawyers to this area of the
law.

As Scammell is quick to point out, whistleblowing is not limited to
military expenditures. The author documents examples of fraud in
Medicare spending that recovered hundreds of millions of dollars
for the government along with $15 million for private citizen Jack
Dowden, the man who exposed the improper billing procedures.
Dishonest procedures on Wall Street led investment banker Michael
Lissack to expose a process known as "yield burning." Ultimately
the federal government would recover over $200 million that had
wrongfully been withheld.

Reading GIANT KILLERS can be an exasperating and frustrating
experience. In an era when federal deficits are expanding and
meaningful, important programs are being curtailed because there
are inadequate federal revenues, it is aggravating to read about
the knowing and intentional waste of federal spending. There is
comfort, however, in discovering that some of the government waste
and corruption is being exposed. Some corporations, in response to
fraud, are implementing programs to change a culture of deceit to
one of compliance. One of the early advocates of the False Claims
Act was President Abraham Lincoln. "Honest Abe" would be pleased
with the results of his efforts.