Courageous Whistleblowers Reclaim Derogatory Terms As Data Shows 80% of Financial Professionals Stay Silent on Suspected Internal Fraud, Fearing Retaliation

• Enron whistleblower, Sherron Watkins, alongside stars of Apple TV's The Big Conn, Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith, reclaim derogatory labels for whistleblowers
• Concerning new data shows more than half of financial professionals in the UK and US have spotted or suspected internal fraud in their workplaces, yet four out of five stay silent fearing retaliation
• 32% of professionals in finance have seen whistleblowers victimized behind their back or to their face

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New data from fraud detection software company Medius shows more than half of financial professionals in the UK and US (56%) have spotted or suspected internal fraud in their workplaces yet four in five (81%) stayed silent. When asked why, 45% of professionals cited the fear of recrimination.

Whistleblowers Sherron Watkins, Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith have joined forces to reclaim the derogatory names they were called after reporting serious internal financial fraud.

To help empower others to come forward, the whistleblowers are reclaiming the terms "snitch", "rat" and "traitor".

Sherron Watkins is the former Vice President of Enron Corporation who alerted the CEO to accounting irregularities, warning the organization "might implode in a wave of accounting scandals." Watkins received national acclaim for her courageous actions and TIME magazine named her along with two others as their Persons of the Year in 2002, calling them simply 'The Whistleblowers.'

Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith are the stars of Apple TV's The Big Conn after they exposed a fraud scheme of more than $550 million while employed at the Social Security Administration. In efforts to silence their disclosures, they experienced multiple acts of severe retaliation and were denied protection. Ultimately, both Carver and Griffith were forced from employment.

Concerns of repercussions are vindicated - the survey reveals the extent to which financial professionals in the UK and US have witnessed negative consequences for whistleblowers firsthand:

• 59% have seen whistleblowers subsequently left out of important decisions
• 33% have seen whistleblowers moved to a different team
• 32% have heard whistleblowers called derogatory names behind their backs or directly to their face

When asked what would encourage them to flag suspicious activity, 93% of workers surveyed would feel more comfortable doing so if they had more evidence, yet nearly half (48%) said the legal system simply does not adequately protect whistleblowers.