It’s of course a horrible story, and extremely sad that you felt so badly about yourself after working and telling the truth. Unfortunately, it’s normal and there are no such thing as whistleblower protections in reality, unless you continue down the path with the SEC. You can and should, but without a lawyer, as it’s too expensive. Just keep writing them and asking for an update on their progress every few weeks and cc the internet.
But big companies win, even when they lose. Google just lost a lawsuit to Sonos for patent infringement on five patents or so. Their reaction, a typical, Well, we disagree with the judge and we’ll just ignore the court order. It’s not exactly what they said, but it was clear from their attitude. Lawyers and lawyers and lawyers and PR professionals, and anti-union consultant firms are cheap for them, though overbearingly expensive for individuals. And even when a ‘small’ firm like Sonos or Epic Games wins against Google and Apple, it doesn’t even make the slightest dent.
No question you did the right thing, and you should no shame in speaking up. As you probably found out from the comments, a large group of people support you and know what you’re going through. You are valuable and accomplished a lot. Value yourself and keep on keeping on.