Poppy Alexander

Biography

Poppy Alexander is a partner at Whistleblower Partners. She represents whistleblowers in a variety of industries and under all the whistleblower programs, including the False Claims Act and the whistleblower programs administered by the Department of Treasury, SEC, CFTC, IRS, and Department of Transportation.

Poppy specializes in matters concerning cutting edge financial frauds, including money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, cryptocurrency, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters.

She was actively involved in the creation and expansion of the FinCEN Whistleblower Program and continues to push the boundaries of financial fraud whistleblower work. Poppy also has a strong background in human rights law, and she seeks out whistleblower cases that can help promote corporate accountability for human rights abuses around the world.

Poppy graduated from Harvard Law School in 2012. She was the co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and an active participant in the Human Rights Clinic, working on issues related to corporate accountability for human rights violations in Africa and military abuses in Southeast Asia. She was awarded the Dean’s Award for Community Leadership in recognition for her contributions to the school community. Poppy was named to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list every year from 2016 to 2023.

Prior to law school, Poppy worked on election reform issues before beginning graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied political and critical theory.

Outside of work, Poppy enjoys teaching her two kids to bake and ski and cajoling her dog up the many hills of San Francisco.

Representative Cases

• A False Claims Act case concerning a decade-long conspiracy by the five largest oil companies in South Korea to rig their bids to artificially inflate prices on fuel contracts for U.S. military bases in South Korea. Poppy and her colleagues helped the government recoup over $360 million in fines and penalties to settle the case. The settlements were the largest in American history under Section 4A of the Clayton Act and helped spur the creation of the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).

• The first-ever whistleblower award made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal auto-safety regulator. In 2021, Poppy and her colleagues secured a $24.3 million reward for a former Hyundai safety engineer, whose information concerning engine safety failures led the agency to impose a combined penalty on Hyundai and Kia totaling $210 million.

• Representing Frances Haugen in her fight to expose Meta’s lack of safety protocols, contributing to dangerous political upheaval and child safety concerns around the globe.

• Some of the first cases against major U.S. banks filed under the new FinCEN Whistleblower Program concerning serious violations of the Bank Secrecy Act through the banks’ systematic compliance failures.

• Matters filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by publicly traded U.S. companies resulting in serious human rights abuses abroad.

Publications

• “AI Whistleblowers Can’t Carry the Burden of Regulating Industry,” Bloomberg Law (June 3, 2025)
• “Be Wary of Trending TikTok Hacks—Especially Those Like the Chase Bank Glitch | Opinion,” Newsweek (September 6, 2024) with Hamsa Mahendranathan
• “AI companies, meet the False Claims Act,” The Hill (June 10, 2024)
• “Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Must Put Officers on Alert,” Law360 (January 8, 2024) (with Caleb Hayes-Deats) (paywall)
• “Transnational Whistleblower Litigation,” Transnational Litigation Blog (October 11, 2023)
• “How to Be a Crypto Whistleblower,” The Information (May 18, 2023) (paywall)
• “FinCEN’s Whistleblower Program Sharpens Focus on Money Launderers,” Bloomberg Law (February 7, 2023) (with Caleb Hayes-Deats)
• “Crypto Is Under Fire, But Is This Really the End for Its Wild West?,” Los Angeles Times (January 15, 2023) (with Rebecca Ackermann) (paywall)
• “Expand This Whistleblower Program So Putin’s Cronies Can’t Evade Sanctions,” Fortune (March 4, 2022) (paywall)
• “How America’s Mistrust of Institutions Birthed the False Promises of the Crypto Craze,” Los Angeles Times (February 28, 2022) (with Rebecca Ackermann (paywall)
• “Elon Musk Is Mocking Whistleblowers. Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing,” Newsweek (January 14, 2022) (with Mary Inman, Amber Scorah, and Ariella Steinhorn)
• “SB 8 Reveals the Difference Between a Private Vigilante Law and a Private Attorney General Statute,” Harvard Law & Policy Review Blog (November 11, 2021) (with Chris McLamb)
• “Enablers Act Will Do More to Stop Money Laundering Than Lawmakers Realize,” The Hill (October 14, 2021)
• “SEC Examines Relationship Between Bad Books and Bribery Schemes,” New York Law Journal (August 11, 2020) (with Michael Ronickher)
• “Reforming Private Prisons From the Inside,” The Tennessean (November 2, 2016) (with Anne Hayes Hartman)
• “Congress’ Band-Aid—It’s Up to Whistleblowers to Combat EB-5 Fraud,” The Epoch Times (October 12, 2016) (paywall)
• “We Need Whistleblowers to Save Indian Workers From H-1B Visa Fraud,” The Huffington Post (October 12, 2016) (with Rosie Dawn Griffin)
• “Calling All FCPA Whistleblowers—The SEC Wants You,” OffshoreAlert (October 6, 2016)
• “Anatomy of an IRS Phone Scam,” Think Advisor (July 6, 2016) (with Gordon Schnell)

Media Coverage

• Polly Nash, “US recruiter settles in court after allegedly violating incentive ban,” The Pie (February 24, 2026)

• Hannah Levintova and Dan Friedman, “What Was Bill Pulte’s Charity Really Funding With This Mystery Donation?,” Mother Jones (February 23, 2026)

• Hannah Levintova, “Bill Pulte Promoted a Memecoin Run by an Influencer Facing Fraud Charges,” Mother Jones (Decemeber 15, 2025)

• Michael Roddan, “Deel Bolsters Governance as It Fights Spying Claims,” The Information (May 26, 2025) (paywall)
• Kristen Edgreen Kaufman, “Trump Paused The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. What Does It Mean For Companies?,” Forbes (March 3, 2025)
• Anna Bianca Roach, “Halt on FCPA Enforcement Not a Green Light,” Agenda Week (February 14, 2025) (paywall)
• Paris Martineau, “So You Wanna Be A Whistleblower?,” The Information (September 21, 2024) with Mary Inman (paywall)
• Rabihah Butler, “Reporting fraud: The anatomy of a corporate whistleblower case,” Thomson Reuters (August 1, 2024)
• Alison Knezevich, “Whistleblowing Work is Fueling Law Firm Growth,” Law360 (May 9, 2024) (paywall)
• Sam Skolnik, “Boeing, Facebook Whistleblower Lawyers Announce New Firm,” Bloomberg Law (March 21, 2024)
• Anna Sanders, “12 Ex-Constantine Cannon Attys Launch Whistleblower Firm,” Law360 (March 21, 2024) (paywall)
• “Whistleblower Specialists Open Boutique Law Firm,” Daily Journal (March 21, 2024)
• Lorenzo Bodrero, “Arctic, the Hardship of Sanctions,” IrpiMedia (February 9, 2024)
• Amanda Lacone, Nicola M. White, and Jon Meltzer, “SPAC Audit Kings: How Soaring IPO Market Ensnared Marcum, Withum,” Bloomberg Tax (September 29, 2023)
• Anna Bianca Roach, “Supreme Court Whistleblower Decision May Push Tipoffs to Other Avenues,” Global Investigations Review (August 24, 2023) (paywall)
• Jordyn Gleaton, “Whistleblower Law, Impact Litigation, and the Potential for Social Justice,” Impact Fund Blog (August 10, 2023)
• Sabrina Willmer, “Banks With Russia Ties Targeted by US Treasury Whistleblowers,” Bloomberg (February 14, 2023) (paywall)
• Anna Langlois, “Experts Push for Whistleblower Incentives,” Global Competition Review (February 13, 2023) (paywall)
• David Jeans and Sarah Emerson, “Helium, the A16Z-Backed Crypto Unicorn, Spars With Binance Over Delisting,” Forbes (October 7, 2022)
• Claire Williams, “Voyager Is the Tip of the Iceberg,” American Banker (July 20, 2022) (paywall)
• Amy Rolph, “Most NDAs Are Now Outlawed in Washington State. Will Whistleblowers Speak Up?,” GeekWire (July 19, 2022)
• Inci Sayki, “Experts Welcome Amendment to U.S. Whistleblower Bill,” OCCRP (June 29, 2022)
• Christopher Rowland, “Beat Cancer? Your Medicare Advantage Plan Might Still Be Billing for It,” The Washington Post (June 5, 2022) (paywall)
• Yoonji Han, “I’m an Attorney for Whistleblowers Who’s Taken on Powerful Companies and Cases Worth $210 Million. Here’s What I Wish People Understood About Coming Forward,” Business Insider (May 5, 2022) (paywall)
• Bob Egelko, “Court to Reconsider California Effort to Shut Down Private Detention Centers for Immigrants,” San Francisco Chronicle (April 26, 2022) (paywall)
• A. J. Perez, “The Meme Coin That’s Paid Out Over $800K to MMA Fighters,” Front Office Sports (March 11, 2022)
• Sarah Emerson, “The NFTs They Bought From the Crypto Rapper Disappeared. Now They Want a Refund,” BuzzFeed (February 12, 2022)
• FinCen Files Investigations Team, “Congress Has Passed Sweeping Anti-Money Laundering Legislation. Now It’s Up to Trump,” BuzzFeed (December 11, 2020)
• Alyssa Aquino, “Human Rights Watch Says No Private Detention for Migrants,” Law360 (March 16, 2020) (paywall)
• Connor Sheets, “Alabama Sheriffs Keeping Jail Food Money Could Run Afoul of Federal Law, Lawyers Say,” Birmingham News (March 29, 2018)

Speaking Engagements

• “FinCEN Proposed Regulations,” Fraud in America Episodes (July 21, 2026)

• “Demystifying the Antitrust Whistleblower Program,” American Bar Association (June 9, 2026) (panelist)

• “Closing Remarks,” The Anti-Fraud Coalition Financial Frauds Conference (March 27, 2026)

• “Whistleblower Law Update: Developments from the Past Year,” The Anti-Fraud Coalition’s 25th Annual Conference (November 5, 2025) (panelist)
• “Diving Into The New Antitrust Whistleblower Program,” Fraud in America Episodes (July 31, 2025)
• “Compliance in the Age of AI | Protecting AI Whistleblowers: The Implications of Proposed Legislation,” Opal Group (June 13, 2025)
• “No Silent Alarms: Risk Management of Your Whistleblower Program,” ACAMS Assembly Hollywood (April 29, 2025) (speaker)
• “The New DOJ and FinCEN Whistleblower Program’s Effects on BSA and Sanctions Enforcement,” ACAMS Assembly (September 23, 2024)(moderator)
• “The Intersection of Digital Assets, Crypto & Fraud,” Reuters and ACFCS (May 22, 2024) (panelist)
• “The Whistleblower Playbook: S2 – New Folsom,” KQED’s On Our Watch Podcast (May 21, 2024)
• “Money Laundering Whistleblower Reward Claims,” The Anti-Fraud Coalition Financial Frauds Conference (March 19, 2024) (panelist)
• “Newest Whistleblower Laws and Trends: Banks (Anti-Money Laundering), Automakers (Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act), Insurance, and Other Emerging Whistleblower Areas,” 2024 Whistleblower Law Symposium (March 13, 2024)
• “The Intersection of Digital Assets, Crypto & Fraud,” Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists
• “The Buck Stops … Where? How Compliance Officers Can Help Protect Themselves from Personal Liability for AML Issues,” ACAMS The Assembly (October 1, 2023) (panelist)
• “SEC’s Whistleblower Bounty Program: Best Practices for Compliance, Investigations, and Responding to Whistleblowers,” Lorman (July 24, 2023)
• “Gaps, Traps, and Opportunities: Whistleblower Programs and the Protection of Human Rights,” New York City Bar Association (February 13, 2023) (panelist)
• “Climate Advocates Can Use the SEC’s Whistleblower Program to Stop Intentional Climate Misinformation,” Climate Money Watchdog Podcast (July 6, 2022)
• “Multi-Perspective Panel: How to Navigate International Sanctions,” Compliance Week Conference (May 18, 2022) (panelist)
• “The Ins and Outs of Whistleblowing,” Source Code Podcast (March 23, 2022)
• “Whistling at the Fake: Disinformation and the Private Sector,” Whistling at the Fake (January 28, 2022) (panelist)
• “In Defense of Whistleblowers,” Law and Disorder Podcast (July 12, 2021)
• “Whistleblowing: A Human Rights Perspective,” New York Women’s Bar Association (April 27, 2021) (panelist)
• “Government Focus on Whistleblower Retaliation,” Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Compliance & Ethics Institute (October 17, 2017) (panelist)

Volunteer Experience/Board Memberships

• Board Member, Impact Fund

Education

• Harvard Law School (2012)

• University of California, Berkeley, M.A. (2007)

• Yale College (2004)

Honors & Awards

• Chambers and Partners, Band 1: Whistleblower Representation, USA – Nationwide (2026)

• Super Lawyers, Rising Stars (2016-2024)