False Claims Act Whistleblower FAQ: What You Know Can Become a Case

False Claims Act whistleblower questions have a common starting point: a private person can bring a qui tam case over false claims for government money or unpaid duties, and share in a recovery. You may know that the test results changed before a grant application, that the product never passed its required tests, or that someone signed off on a loan despite the missing documents. We start with what you know about the work and the money behind it.

What Is a False Claims Act Whistleblower Case?

A False Claims Act whistleblower case is a civil case brought by a private person in the government’s name to recover money a company got through false claims, or knowingly and improperly kept when it owed it to the government. The name for that private case is qui tam. The whistleblower who brings it is called the relator.

Under the False Claims Act’s whistleblower provisions, the government can take responsibility for pursuing the case, or the whistleblower can pursue it after the government declines. Your account connects the payment to what happened inside the business: what it promised, what it delivered, what it claimed and who knew the difference.

Who Can File?

Employees, former employees and people outside the company can bring False Claims Act cases. Billing staff, sales representatives, clinicians, contractors and competitors have supplied information behind such cases. A job title tells us where you could see the conduct. The substance is what you saw.

A billing employee may know the code used to obtain payment. A scientist may know that the results in a grant report differ from the work performed. A contractor may know which tests a component needed and which tests actually happened. We assess the case around that knowledge and the government funds involved.

Must I Be an Employee?

No. The whistleblower in the Northrop Grumman satellite-parts case worked for Aerospace Corporation, a different company. The Department of Justice’s announcement concerned allegations that satellite transistors were unqualified or untested and that the supplier failed to disclose the problems.

You may understand the specification, the testing or the product from outside the supplier’s payroll. We want to understand how your work brought you to the information.

What Conduct Can Fit a False Claims Act Case?

Knowingly false bills, false records supporting payment, agreements to submit false claims and knowing, improper avoidance of money owed to the government can support a case. The payment connection can run through healthcare, defense contracts, research grants, student aid, government-backed mortgages or unpaid import duties.

The immediate payer may be a contractor or grant recipient. The Congressional Research Service’s 2009 report, Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Related Federal Statutes, explains that covered claims can reach federal funds through indirect payment relationships. A subcontractor’s invoice or a grant-funded purchase therefore gives us a money trail to examine, even when the invoice goes somewhere other than a federal agency.

Knowingly and improperly avoiding an obligation to pay the government is called a reverse false claim. The money moves in the other direction, but the government still comes up short.

Does the False Claims Act Cover Unpaid Customs Duties?

Yes. Customs fraud can support a False Claims Act case when an importer knowingly and improperly avoids duties owed to the government. The government loses money through duties withheld, even though the importer never sends it a bill.

Sigma Corporation’s case concerned antidumping duties on imported welded outlets. The court found the company liable for unpaid duties. The product and the duty it carried connected the imports to the government’s loss. For an insider who understands those goods, that is a concrete connection to discuss with us.

What Evidence Connects the Conduct to Government Money?

Useful evidence connects what the company represented, the payment it sought and what it knew. In health care, that can mean the clinical record and billing code. In manufacturing or mortgage lending, it can mean the required test and reported result, or the loan file and certification.

The whistleblower’s complaint against JPMorgan Chase alleged that, after an internal investigation, responsibility for signing lender certifications moved from the government-insuring staff to loan officers or production staff:

United States of America ex rel. Edwards v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and JPMorgan Chase & Co., whistleblower’s complaint

The complaint also alleged that loans continued to be submitted without adequate documentation. New signer. Same missing documents. The insider can explain the objection, the instruction that followed it and what the company kept submitting.

Can Research Grant Fraud Support a Case?

Yes. False research used to obtain government grants can support a False Claims Act case. Duke University agreed to a $112.5 million settlement announced by the Department of Justice over allegations that fabricated research supported federal grant applications and progress reports. The department announced a $33.75 million whistleblower award from that settlement.

A former university employee brought the case. The grant application and progress report connect the science to the money. For someone who knows the experiments, the important comparison is between what the work showed and what the institution told the funding agency. We examine that connection with you.

Questions About Your Own Situation

We work through confidentiality, your own role, prior reports and any existing investigation or case with you and False Claims Act whistleblower lawyers. You can begin with what happened and the questions you have. We bring the expertise to assess them with you.

What If the Government Doesn’t Join My Case?

You can still pursue the case. The False Claims Act allows a whistleblower to continue pursuing the case when the government declines to take it over. We assess the evidence and the team needed to pursue that route with you.

Biogen agreed to a $900 million federal and state settlement in a case the government had declined. The whistleblower alleged that speaker, training and consulting payments induced physicians to prescribe the company’s drugs. We see why the whistleblower’s knowledge matters here: a case the government passed on still ended in a substantial settlement.

For an insider in pharmaceutical sales, that example puts the payments and their purpose together. Who received the money, what work it supposedly bought and how it related to prescriptions are concrete questions we can examine.

What Share Is Possible?

A whistleblower case under the False Claims Act can pay 15% to 30% of what the government recovers. The reward is the whistleblower’s share of the recovery, while the settlement is the amount the defendant agrees to pay.

The law provides for damages of three times the government’s loss. The evidence connecting the conduct to that loss matters to the recovery and your potential reward. We assess that connection with you and False Claims Act whistleblower lawyers who know the type of fraud involved.

Can I File Under a State Law?

Some state false claims laws allow private whistleblower cases. We assess the state, the program and the money involved, including whether federal and state claims belong in the same matter.

Medicaid is one example: the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General reviews state laws that reward whistleblowers for cases involving Medicaid money. We examine the law that applies to your information and the government funds behind it.

Your Knowledge Is Where We Begin

If you know where a bill, test result, certification or import declaration departs from the truth, speak to our whistleblower experts about a False Claims Act case. We connect your industry knowledge to the money paid or owed to the government and bring in False Claims Act whistleblower lawyers who understand your industry and the scheme. We stand beside you to build your strongest whistleblower case and pursue the recovery and your share.