Whistleblower Wins Case against Oil Company

By Katie Hauser

Published on January 29, 2007

Bobby Maxwell, a well-respected auditor who worked for the Interior Department’s Mineral Management Service (MMS), was the first of at least four citizens to blow the whistle on underpayment of oil drilling royalties to the U.S. Government. Maxwell claimed that he was told by Interior Department officials not to bill the oil company Kerr-McGee for royalties owed to the government after the company drilled for oil and gas on sites under federal lease.

Under the False Claims Act, Maxwell is eligible to receive up to 25% of the damages recovered by the government as a result of his claim.

Maxwell lost his job, allegedly as the result of restructuring, just one week after he made his claim. Provisions are being made to ensure that other MMS auditors who have filed formal complaints will not be subjected to any sort of retaliation.

Kerr-McGee recently filed a suit to challenge the government’s right to claim royalties for the oil in question, which was produced from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The case is still pending.

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