How Do Tax Whistleblowers Reconcile the Diebold Case?
August 10, 2009 – 11:17 amIn 2003 , Stephen Heller blew the whistle on an illegal scheme by Diebold to use uncertified software on their voting machines in the state of California, which would have compromised the voting process and voter confidence. Heller blew the whistle on the company’s plan to defraud California voters when he exposed documents he saw while working as a temp worker at Diebold’s California law firm, Jones Day. Diebold had been advised by Jones Day that what it had been doing with its uncertified software was illegal. The courageous act, from which Heller stood to gain nothing (he, in fact, was fired for it) led to the decertification of Diebold in the state by former Sec. of State Kevin Shelley, and then to the eventual settlement between the company and the state of California for $2.6 million in 2004.
In 2007, Heller was indicted by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office on criminal charges. Do tax whistleblowers need to fret over the apparent injustice of Heller’s indictment?
Whistleblowing is not an act that absolves a Whistleblower of previous crimes he has committed. A Tax Whistleblower should be very concerned about whether they have any culpability for crimes that could be exposed during the Whistleblower process. A discussion of potential culpability must occur with a Whistleblower’s attorney before the decision is made to engage in the Whistleblower process. Many Whistleblowers have the false sense of security that, because they are doing a noble act of informing the government of detrimental acts, the government will forgive any past acts of impropriety.
Heller stold documents from the Jones Day law firm. Jones Day had not committed a crime, its client had. In addition, those documents were protected by the Fifth Amendment. The Constitution cannot be violated for the sake of preventing another violation of law.
In the end, the LA District Attorney’s Office only slapped Heller on the wrist. He pled guilty and received 6 months probation. No fine. No jail time. In the end, the LA District Attorney’s Office did give Heller a break because he provided such valuable information as a Whistleblower. However, the LA District Attorney’s Office made it clear that a Whistleblower, without clean hands, can be subject to some form of punishment.
3 Responses to “How Do Tax Whistleblowers Reconcile the Diebold Case?”
I’m Steve Heller, formerly known as “the Diebold Whistle-blower.” Just a clarification of facts: I was given three years probation, not six months. I had to pay restitution of $10,000 to the law firm, so while technically that was not a fine, it was still a significant financial punishment. It’s true that I did not have to go to jail, but for a first time offender who had never been in trouble with the law before, that’s not at all unusual, especially since I never tried to profit from my crime.
I would also suggest that the L.A. D.A.’s office did not “give me a break.” They charged me with three felonies. They also let me know in very clear terms that if I did not plead guilty to at least one felony (which is what I eventually did) they would push for a state prison sentence of at least three years.
To be clear, I have repeatedly acknowledged in all the public speaking and all the writing that I did regarding my case that I committed a serious crime in stealing and exposing attorney-client privileged information. I also stated that I had to be held accountable for my crime in order to protect the attorney-client privilege provision. I do think a misdemeanor charge would have sufficed for accountability, but the DA’s office, under tremendous pressure from a very powerful and politically connected law firm (the firm’s managing partner was a “Bush Pioneer” which meant he raised more than $250,000 for W. Bush’s presidential campaigns), charged me with three felonies.
One more point: I make no comment on the behavior of Diebold’s law firm, but at the time there were legal experts who suggested that the firm was not without legal jeopardy in the way they responded to a client (Diebold) that had been and was continuing to break the law by using illegal, uncertified software in their California voting machines (Diebold was probably committing the same or similar crimes in other states, but the docs. I stole were only related to California).
By Steve Heller on Aug 10, 2009
If you don’t want to post the comment I submitted, that’s fine, it’s your blog and you can post/not post whatever you want. But I’m asking you to please correct the inaccurate information about my case that’s in the post. The DA’s office did not give me a break or a slap on the wrist, they charged me with three felonies and I plead guilty to one felony. Having a felony conviction is not a slap on the wrist, and the felony has continued to prevent me from getting any job at all. I was given 3 years probation, not six months (and I am on probation still). It’s true there was no jail time. And there was no fine, but I was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the law firm. Thank you in advance for correcting the record.
By Steve Heller on Aug 10, 2009
Mr. Heller,
Thank you so much for visiting our blog and for adding your additional facts. Your input is so valuable to us. Make no mistake about it, we are on your side! We thank you for what you did, and we sincerely regret that the LA district attorney’s office prosecuted you for what we describe as minor crimes of necessity to prevent a much greater crime.
By Rob on Sep 30, 2009