Disclaimer

Last Updated: September 2026

WhaleCatchers.org is an independent public-interest document archive and research website created to preserve, organize, examine, and make available records relating to government contracting, litigation, whistleblower complaints, corporate activity, public records, correspondence, and related matters.

Materials published on this website may include court filings, government records, whistleblower complaints, correspondence, corporate records, contract data, property records, research notes, exhibits, public databases, and commentary prepared by John Henry Melville or others.

Allegations Are Not Findings of Fact

Many documents published on WhaleCatchers.org contain allegations, suspicions, theories, interpretations, questions, or conclusions asserted by John Henry Melville or by the authors of the underlying documents.

An allegation is not the same as a proven fact.

Unless expressly stated otherwise and supported by an official court judgment, government finding, admission, settlement, authenticated primary record, or other reliable evidence, nothing on this website should be interpreted as a determination that any individual, company, government employee, agency, contractor, or other organization committed fraud, corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, misconduct, criminal activity, or any other unlawful act.

The appearance of a person's or company's name in a complaint, document, database, contract record, property record, corporate filing, or investigation does not by itself establish wrongdoing.

Documents May Contain Errors or Incomplete Information

WhaleCatchers.org attempts to preserve documents accurately and present research in good faith. However, government databases, corporate filings, court records, historical documents, OCR text, third-party databases, archived webpages, and research materials may contain errors, omissions, outdated information, duplicate records, data-entry mistakes, or information that requires additional context.

Interpretations appearing on the site may also change as additional evidence becomes available.

Whale Catchers encourages readers to examine the original records, verify calculations, review the surrounding context, and conduct independent research before reaching conclusions.

Original Sources Control

Whenever possible, WhaleCatchers.org provides or references the underlying documents used in its research.

If a summary, article, caption, video, commentary, or explanation on this website differs from an original document, the original document should be treated as the controlling source.

Readers are encouraged to examine the complete document rather than relying solely on summaries or excerpts.

No Legal Determination Is Intended

WhaleCatchers.org is not a court, law-enforcement agency, regulatory agency, inspector general, prosecutor, auditor, or official government investigative body.

The website does not have the authority to determine guilt, liability, criminal conduct, contractual liability, regulatory violations, or legal responsibility.

Questions raised by the documents are presented for public examination and, where appropriate, review by qualified journalists, attorneys, auditors, investigators, government officials, researchers, and law-enforcement authorities.

No Legal, Financial, or Professional Advice

Nothing published on WhaleCatchers.org constitutes legal, financial, investment, tax, accounting, investigative, or other professional advice.

Readers should consult an appropriately qualified professional regarding matters affecting their individual circumstances.

Research and Commentary

Some material on WhaleCatchers.org represents analysis or opinion based on public records and other available information.

Where the website identifies an apparent connection between people, companies, addresses, government contracts, financial transactions, corporate entities, property records, or other information, the existence of that connection should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of unlawful activity.

Correlation, association, proximity, or coincidence does not by itself establish causation or misconduct.

Government and Third-Party Materials

WhaleCatchers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or operated by the United States government, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Congress, any state or local government, or any company or organization discussed on the website unless expressly stated otherwise.

References to third-party organizations, government agencies, websites, trademarks, products, or companies are provided for identification, research, documentation, and commentary purposes.

Right of Response

Whale Catchers welcomes documented corrections, clarifications, responses, and additional evidence from individuals, companies, government agencies, attorneys, journalists, researchers, and members of the public.

Anyone who believes information published on WhaleCatchers.org is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, outdated, or missing important context is encouraged to contact:

whalecatchersorg@gmail.com

Submissions should identify the specific page or document in question and, whenever possible, include supporting documentation.

Credible corrections will be reviewed and, when appropriate, the website may correct, clarify, annotate, update, or supplement the material.

Corrections & Right-of-Response Policy

WhaleCatchers.org is committed to maintaining an accurate public record.

If you are named or discussed on this website and believe that information is incorrect, incomplete, outdated, or presented without important context, Whale Catchers welcomes a documented response.

Please email whalecatchersorg@gmail.com and provide the page or document involved, the specific information you dispute, your proposed correction or clarification, and supporting records where available.

Submissions will be reviewed in good faith. When reliable evidence demonstrates that information should be corrected or clarified, WhaleCatchers.org may update the page while preserving an appropriate record of the correction.

The website may also publish substantive responses from persons or organizations discussed in an investigation when doing so provides meaningful context to readers.

No Conclusion Should Be Drawn From Inclusion

The inclusion of a person, organization, company, address, contract, transaction, photograph, public filing, or other record on WhaleCatchers.org should not be interpreted as an accusation of wrongdoing unless the accompanying material specifically states that an allegation is being made.

Even where allegations are presented, they remain allegations unless independently established.

Historical Material

Some records on WhaleCatchers.org span many years or decades. Addresses, corporate names, officers, ownership structures, telephone numbers, websites, government identifiers, contracting systems, and business relationships may have changed over time.

Present-day conditions should not automatically be assumed to reflect circumstances existing when a historical record was created.

Good-Faith Research Purpose

WhaleCatchers.org exists to promote transparency, document preservation, public examination, accountability, and independent research.

The objective is not to declare guilt by accusation, but to preserve records, identify unanswered questions, encourage verification, and allow readers to examine the available evidence for themselves.

Do not simply believe what you read here. Review the documents. Verify the facts. Follow the evidence.

Our Research Standard

Whale Catchers attempts to distinguish between four categories of information:

Documented Fact — Information directly supported by an identifiable primary record.

Unexplained Anomaly — A record or transaction that appears unusual but for which sufficient evidence does not yet exist to determine why.

Allegation or Interpretation — A conclusion, theory, accusation, or interpretation advanced by a complainant or researcher.

Official Finding — A conclusion reached by a court, government agency, regulator, auditor, inspector general, or other authorized body.

WhaleCatchers.org encourages readers to recognize the difference between these categories.

Source & Evidence Policy

WhaleCatchers.org gives preference to original source material, including government contract records, court filings, official correspondence, corporate filings, deeds and mortgages, government reports, agency records, SEC filings, and other primary documentation.

Secondary databases, news reports, archived webpages, commercial databases, people-search services, and other third-party sources may be used to identify leads, but those sources should not automatically be treated as proof of an allegation.

When new primary evidence contradicts earlier research, the stronger evidence should control.

Opinion & Commentary Notice

Pages, videos, articles, captions, and commentary may contain the personal opinions, interpretations, and conclusions of John Henry Melville or other contributors.

Statements of opinion should not be interpreted as official findings by a court, government agency, law-enforcement organization, regulator, auditor, or other authority.

Where factual assertions accompany commentary, readers are encouraged to examine the cited supporting documents independently.

Privacy & Sensitive Information Policy

WhaleCatchers.org publishes documents for research, transparency, historical preservation, and public-interest purposes. Some underlying public records may contain addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, signatures, financial information, or other personal information.

Where practical and appropriate, Whale Catchers may redact highly sensitive information that is unnecessary to understanding the public-interest subject matter, including Social Security numbers, complete bank-account numbers, passwords, medical information, and information concerning uninvolved minors.

Anyone who believes sensitive personal information has been unnecessarily published may contact whalecatchersorg@gmail.com and identify the material at issue.

Copyright & Public Records Notice

Many materials available through WhaleCatchers.org consist of public records, government documents, court filings, correspondence, or documents reproduced for purposes of research, commentary, criticism, reporting, and historical preservation.

Copyright ownership, where applicable, remains with the respective copyright holder.

The inclusion of third-party material does not imply ownership by WhaleCatchers.org.

If a copyright owner believes protected material has been used improperly, they may contact whalecatchersorg@gmail.com with sufficient information to identify the work and the material at issue.

Third-Party Links Disclaimer

WhaleCatchers.org may link to government websites, court systems, corporate databases, news organizations, archives, research services, and other third-party websites.

Whale Catchers does not control those websites and is not responsible for their availability, accuracy, security, privacy practices, or content.

Major Fraud Act of 1988

The Major Fraud Act of 1988 is a U.S. federal law designed to combat significant fraud involving the federal government. It is best known for creating a specific criminal offense that targets large-scale fraud in government contracts and federally funded projects.

The law is codified primarily at 18 U.S.C. § 1031.

What the law covers

The Major Fraud Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly execute, or attempt to execute, a scheme to defraud the United States or to obtain money or property through false or fraudulent pretenses in connection with:

  • A federal government contract.
  • A subcontract under a federal contract.
  • A grant, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, or other form of federal assistance.

The statute generally applies when the value of the contract or assistance is $1 million or more.

Examples of conduct that may violate the Act

A person or company could be prosecuted under the Major Fraud Act for things such as:

  • Billing the government for work that was never performed.
  • Falsifying certifications or test results.
  • Knowingly supplying products that fail to meet contract specifications while representing that they do.
  • Inflating invoices or charging for unauthorized expenses.
  • Concealing material facts in order to obtain payment.

For example, if a defense contractor knowingly delivers components that do not meet military specifications but certifies that they do, prosecutors may charge the contractor under the Major Fraud Act if the contract exceeds the statutory threshold.

Elements prosecutors generally must prove

To obtain a conviction, prosecutors generally must establish that:

  1. The defendant knowingly engaged in or attempted a scheme to defraud.
  2. The scheme involved a qualifying federal contract or federal assistance.
  3. The contract or assistance met the statutory dollar threshold.
  4. The fraudulent conduct was material to obtaining money or property.

Penalties

A conviction can result in:

  • Up to 10 years in federal prison for each count.
  • Significant criminal fines.
  • Restitution to the government.
  • Debarment or suspension from future federal contracting.
  • Potential civil liability under laws such as the False Claims Act, in addition to criminal prosecution.

Why Congress enacted it

Congress passed the Major Fraud Act in response to growing concerns during the 1980s about fraud involving large federal procurement programs—particularly defense contracts. The goal was to give federal prosecutors a stronger, more targeted tool to address major fraud against the government involving substantial sums of taxpayer money.

Relationship to other federal fraud statutes

The Major Fraud Act is often charged alongside other federal offenses, including:

  • False statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001)
  • Wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)
  • Mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341)
  • Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371)
  • False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733), which provides civil—not criminal—remedies

Each statute has different elements and purposes, so prosecutors frequently use them together when appropriate.