BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A judge awarded nearly $15 million in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a one-time mortuary worker who was threatened with being cremated alive for revealing fraud, his attorneys said Thursday.
The judgment in favor of Barry Taul, made under a federal law that rewards people who report fraud and other crimes, goes against the owner of Abanks Mortuary and Crematory, where Taul once worked in Birmingham.
A jury ruled in Taul’s favor last month in a whistleblower lawsuit. Taul can receive about $4 million of the judgment; the rest will go to the government.
A lawyer for the mortuary company and its owner, Jed Nagel, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
A statement from Taul’s attorneys with the Montgomery-based Beasley Allen Law Firm said Taul reported a scheme where the mortuary paid kickbacks to two former officials with the Alabama Organ Center in exchange for business referrals. The funeral home collected tissues for the organ center.