World Business

RICHMOND, Va. —

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A fired bank executive who became the first person to win passport under a federal law that shields whistleblowers, solitary to see his victory overturned, suffered another setback in a federal appeals make love to Tuesday.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not reinstate David Welch to his work at jobs, ruling that he failed to explain how his employer’s alleged shoddy accounting practices could be considered a violation of federal law.

Welch was dismissed as commander financial official of Cardinal Bankshares Corp. in 2002 after reporting what he said were misclassifications in pecuniary reports that essentially overstated the bank’s earnings by $195,000. Cardinal is the holding company for the topical bank in Floyd, population about 400, in southwestern Virginia.

A federal administrative law judge ruled in 2004 that Welch should be reinstated under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, enacted sum of two units years earlier in response to corporate scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and other companies. The law required more stringent accounting practices and offered protection to workers who point out violations.

Since Sarbanes-Oxley was signed into law, more than 1,000 self-professed whistleblowers have come forward, and most desire seen their cases rejected. Welch was the first to win his case before an administrative science of laws judge, but that firmness was reversed in June 2007 by the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board.

The appeals addresses affirmed the board’s decision, saying Welch “utterly failed to explain how Cardinal’s alleged guidance could reasonably have being regarded during the time that violating any of the laws” covered by Sarbanes-Oxley.

Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote that Welch failed to support his arguments to the revise board with relevant statements. For example, she said Welch relied attached laws or regulations passed years after the financial reports were filed, as well as other regulations that do not fall within the extent of Sarbanes-0xley.

Welch, now every accounting professor at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, declined to make comments and his lawyer, Bruce Shine, did not immediately return a phone call seeking remark.

Leon Moore, president of Cardinal Bankshares, also did not directly return a phone message.

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AP National Writer Adam Geller in New York contributed to this report.