Blake Percival was the Director of Fieldwork Services, Western Pennsylvania,(WPA), for USIS. He became a

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

in July 2011, when he filed a ''qui tam'' suit saying he was fired from USIS, for not ordering his subordinates to submit cases to the U.S. Government for payment, that had not been completed. He had worked for USIS from January 2001 to June 2011. In his suit he stated he had been fired after he refused to order his employees to continue an elaborate fraud known as dumping. The suit was filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Alabama. His allegations were investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and in October 2013 the DOJ joined Percival’s suit and removed the seal. The case, ''United States of America ex rel. Blake Percival v. U.S. Investigations Services'', Civil Action No. 11-CV-527-WKW, was filed in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama (Northern Division). On January 22, 2014 the DOJ filed their formal complaint against USIS. In their filing the DOJ stated that USIS committed fraud on at least 665,000 background investigations. This case was moved to Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2014. The case was settled on August 19. 2015 when USIS agreed to forgo claims to more than $30,000,000 it was owed by the U.S. Government. On December 18, 2015 the Department of Justice awarded Percival 20%, just over $6,000,000, of the money recovered from USIS.

Education

Percival graduated from

Bluefield State College Bluefield State University (Bluefield State) is a university in Bluefield, West Virginia that is an historically black university. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and converted to a university in the summer of 2022. It ad ...

in January 2000 with a Regeants Bachelor of Arts Degree. He graduated from the

West Virginia State Police Academy The West Virginia State Police Academy is a law enforcement training institution, operated by the West Virginia State Police, located in Institute, West Virginia. The academy trains West Virginia troopers for the State Police force and all newly h ...

in April 1994 as part of the 86th Basic Class, which certified him as a Police Officer in West Virginia. He graduated from the Montgomery Police Academy’s lateral training class in 1998, which certified him as a Police Officer in Alabama. In 2008 he was licensed as a

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

by the State of Minnesota Board of Private Detective and Protective Agent Services. In April 2013 he was certified in Alabama as a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

by the Alabama Judicial College.

Early career

From February 1986 to March 1992 Percival served in the U.S. Army. While in the Army he worked as a Material Control Accounting Specialist for 4 years and as a Military Police Officer for 2 years. He was assigned at

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...

, California,

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...

, Alabama, and Fuerth, Germany. In March 1992 he was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant. From 1994 to 2001, Percival worked as a

Police Officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

. He held

positions in West Virginia and Alabama. In West Virginia he worked at Beckley Police Department, and in Alabama he worked at Baptist Health Police Department,

Auburn University at Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967, it is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees as a member of the Auburn University syste ...

, (A.U.M.) Police Department, and

Wetumpka Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The city is ...

Police Department. He also worked as a

Bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

at the City of

Montgomery Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

Municipal Court.

USIS

In 2001 Percival began working for U.S. Investigations Services which was later renamed USIS. From 2001 to 2003 he was an Investigator conducting background investigations for the

United States Office of Personnel Management The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that manages the US civilian service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight and support, and tends t ...

, (OPM). In 2003 he was promoted to District Manager and managed Investigators in the Fayetteville, NC area. In 2005 he was reassigned as a Team Leader for Investigators in the Montgomery, AL area. In 2007 he was promoted to District Manager of the Minneapolis District. In January 2011 he was promoted to Director of Fieldwork Services, Western Pennsylvania. He was fired from USIS in June 2011.

After USIS

From September 2011 to October 2013 Percival worked for

CACI CACI International Inc. (originally California Analysis Center, Inc., then Consolidated Analysis Center, Inc.) is an American multinational professional services and information technology company headquartered in Northern Virginia. CACI provi ...

as an Investigator conducting background investigations for the

, (OPM). From April 2012 to August 2015 he worked as a

at the City of

’s Municipal Court. After his whistleblower case settled, he became a public speaker on the topics of Morals, and Ethics. In April 2017 he became a member of the Washington, D.C. based law firm ProtectUS Law, which is a law firm specializing in whistleblower cases. Percival's book ''Holding on to Integrity and Paying the Price: A Whistleblower's Story'' was published January 6, 2020.

References

External links

/ Press Release from the US Attorney's Office, Middle District of Alabama, October 31, 2013
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100107/https://www.idradar.com/news-stories/law-regulation/USIS-Reportedly-Flushed-Security-Checks-To-Boost-Profits / idRADAR, USIS Reportedly "Flushed" Background Checks To Boost Profits, Workflow]
/ U.S. House of Representatives, 113th Congress, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Democratic Staff report on, The Role of USIS and Allegations of Systematic Fraud/ Minnesota Association of Private Investigators listing for Blake Percival/ 2009 list of Minnesota Licensed Private Investigators on docstoc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Percival, Blake Bluefield State College alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Montgomery, Alabama People from Wetumpka, Alabama American whistleblowers People from Panama City, Florida Year of birth missing (living people)