Eugenie Reich is the founder of a law firm representing whistleblowers of scientific fraud. The firm uses the American False Claims Act, long-since-abolished in the U.K. and other related common law jurisdictions, which allows whistleblowers to file a lawsuit to recover taxpayer’s money that has been fraudulently induced or misused, and, to receive compensation as a percentage share of money returned to government agencies. The firm also pursues retaliation claims on behalf of scientists who have been fired or harmed in their career advancement as a result of whistleblowing. And, it offers discounted, philanthropically supported, and pro bono representation to whistleblowers facing legal threats or recalcitrance dealing with institutions and journals unwilling to correct the scientific record. Prior to law school, Eugenie was a science journalist, and published a 2009 book, re-released in 2025, about a case of scientific fraud at Bell Laboratories titled “Plastic Fantastic: How the Biggest Fraud in Physics Shook the Scientific World.”

ABSTRACT:

Whistleblowing scientific fraud and obstacles to scientific self-correction

For every case of research misconduct that becomes a public scandal, are others that go undetected: because the evidence is hard to communicate, because critics or whistleblowers fear retaliation, because nobody in the know cares, or because the situation is timely and confidentially resolved — a good outcome. In this talk, I will present a qualitative overview of the root causes of research integrity breakdown, based on my experience having founded a law firm committed to whistleblowers of scientific fraud two years ago, and my experience prior to law school as a journalist investigating scientific fraud cases.