In a surprising and especially aggressive turn, it has been revealed that BP has created a “snitch line” so that individuals can call in and inform on others who they suspect of filing fraudulent claims related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Are your serious, BP?!?!?
Media reports say that the hotline promises callers that any and all tips that lead directly o an indictment, a recovery of money paid or the denial of a claim because of fraud or corruption may entitle the tipster to a cash reward. BP created the snitch line after the company has pressed courts in the region to reassess the terms of the settlement it reached with plaintiffs injured by the oil spill. The company claims it is being forced to pay millions in inflated or fictitious claims and so far the court system has said it disagrees with BP’s assessment.
Taking matters into its own hands, BP is now seeking to check what it says are rampant fake claims by incentivizing citizens to turn on each other. BP says that it believes the court-supervised settlement program being run by Patrick Juneau does not dedicate sufficient resources to sniffing out fraud. Specifically, BP says the settlement program has not devoted enough investigators to fully researching all settlement claims; a failure that it says is costing the company millions.
This claim of lack of action on the settlement administrator’s part flies in the face of recent moves taken by attorney generals across the Gulf Coast who have taken seriously any legitimate claims of financial fraud. Prosecutions and guilty pleas have been announced in every Gulf Coast state, and law enforcement authorities say they take the claims of fraud very seriously.
So seriously in fact that earlier this month Judge Carl Barbier appointed former FBI Director Louis Freeh to investigate the alleged misconduct of a lawyer who was chosen to help administer part of the BP settlement fund. The scandal arose when Patrick Juneau announced late last month that his office had begun investigating allegations that an attorney on his staff received a portion of settlement money for claims he had referred to a law firm before he started working on the settlement program. Though the incident is unfortunate, it’s clear that Juneau and others refuse to tolerate even the appearance of corruption and are working tirelessly to ensure everything remains above board. Despite this hard work, BP still believes it needs the anonymous tip hotline to further root out what it believes are thousands of cheaters.
IS ANYBODY ELSE JUST PLAIN OVER BP’S ANTICS????
If you’ve been impacted by this or any other oil spill, please don’t hesitate to contact the Mississippi BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill attorneys at Kilpatrick & Philley at toll free 601-707-4669.
Source: “BP launches anti-fraud hotline for claims arising from 2010 oil spill in Gulf of Mexico,” by The Associated Press, published at FoxNews.com.
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