Whistle Blower Goes to Jail?

[tpunx99GSX]

It would be great to get clarification on this. I heard this on AM 950 today on my way home from the bank.
So this guy Bradley Birkenfeld, who found out that all these millionaires are commiting tax fraud by storing money in a UBS Bank in Switzerland. Well he calls these guys out and turns in tons of records, do we give him a heros reception... no. we put him in jail for 40 months.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-08/birkenfeld-reports-to-prison-to-start-40-month-term-update2-.html
Can anyone shed some light on how this works?
The worst part about this is the people that are wanting to blow the whistle on illegal dealings for the company they work for are going to look at this as "well crap if i say something im going to jail... forget that"

[asshanson]

How it works: don't mess with a bunch of rich people. :crapper:

[Kracka]

That is definitely strange and going to act as a great deterrent from any other whistle-blowers coming forward. This country loves to continually shoot itself in the foot...

[viridionplague]

i like how the guy who saved the U.S. 4 billion dollars. gets 3.5 years in prison. But the guy who was hiding 200 million dollars gets probation.

thats like a gun shop owner, turning in a murderer. but the shop owner gets prison time cause he sold the gun. and the murderer gets a slap on the wrist.

[Goat Blower]

Read the article a little closer, he was just as guilty of fraud as anybody else there, and he plead guilty for it. Turning in other people after you've already been caught is not whistle blowing, it's throwing your co-workers under the bus for a reduced sentence. It would be one thing if he knew about it but didn't actually commit the crimes himself, but that's not the case here.

[viridionplague]

must have missed the part about him getting caught, then turning in the other people.

in which case, mah bad.

[CarPsyco84]

If thats the case, I wouldn't even call it whistle blowing...

[Kracka]

He should have asked for immunity before spilling the beans.

[Goat Blower]

must have missed the part about him getting caught, then turning in the other people.

in which case, mah bad.

You're right, now reading through it, I don't see exactly how I came to that, I guess I was reading too far between the lines. Either way, he was guilty himself, but apparently gave up the info early on. I read a few other news sources that were a little more critical of the current administration and their role in this, kind of a rare thing in the state-controlled media these days.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/01/06/2010-01-06_unveils_bank_fraud_gets_jail.html

[Goat Blower]

He should have asked for immunity before spilling the beans.

He probably did, but we all know about promises of the current administration and how they end up. :wedgie: