False Claims Act Whistleblower Legal Actions
A federal statue provides generous
financial incentive to help the government root out fraud. 
In 1986,
the False Claims Act was amended to provide significant compensation
to whistleblowers that successfully assist in claims of fraud
against the federal government. The whistleblower is know as a
"relator." If you are employee, your job is
protected subject to several caveats (see Whistleblower Protection
under the FCA).
The procedure is to file a confidential legal action in federal court and give an opportunity for the Department of Justice to investigate. This could take years. The government can decide to take over the case and does so just over 25% of the time. You remain in the case and can intervene if you are not satisfied with the work the government is doing on the case. If the government does not take the case, you must prosecute it yourself. This can be very expensive against a big corporation.
FCA Whistleblower Compensation
Total monetary recovery under the False Claims Act is the amount of the fraud times three (tripled). If the government takes over the case and wins and if you were not involved in the fraud, judge will award you between 15 and 25 percent depending on the value of your contribution to the case. If the government does not take over the case and you successfully prosecutes the case, the judge will award you between 25 and 30 percent of the proceeds. If you were involved in the wrongdoing, the court can reduce your share at its discretion depending on the circumstances. The court will dismiss you entirely if you are convicted of criminal conduct arising from the fraud. Attorney fees and costs are awarded if you win the case.
How We Handle FCA Whistleblower Cases
We look for cases that have a reliable and creditable whistleblower that has documentary evidence of the fraud. We charge our normal contingency fee rates to the net recovery from the case.
Overview of Qui Tam Actions
False Claims Act
Legal Theories in Qui Tam Actions
Whistleblower Protection