Description
Whistleblowers play a critical role in uncovering fraud against the government, and our attorneys at the Dolan Law Firm help them navigate the complexities of False Claims Act cases. With offices in San Francisco and throughout California, we’ve helped recover millions while securing significant financial rewards for courageous whistleblowers. If you have inside knowledge of fraud, contact us to explore your legal options.
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In this section,
we'll be discussing whistleblowers,
and specifically whistleblowers
in what we call the false claim arena.
Both the state and the federal government
have what are called False Claim Acts.
In a whistleblower False Claim Act case,
an individual can act
on behalf of the government
to seek to recover
monies that have been obtained by fraud.
This individual is often
referred to as a qui tam relater.
It's a legal claim,
for the private individual or entity
that brings the lawsuit.
So what constitutes a false claim?
A false claim
is a submission of a false bill,
the indication of services
that have been rendered,
issuance of purchase orders,
or claiming that hours or materials
that were used that weren't.
Some of the examples that we've seen
of this is in the aerospace industry,
Medicare fraud and billing,
and sometimes in things such as telecom,
where we've seen entities
that have been charged
for phone usage that didn't occur.
It's under seal, which means
that it's not something that's public.
It is kept private for a period of time
to allow the government
to examine whether or not it wants
to enter into and take over the case.
Many times whistleblowers
are employees of the company.
Sometimes they are competitors,
and sometimes they're contractors
who've been ripped off.
To be a whistleblower,
the information has to be from you first.
It must also be information
that is not known publicly.
If the government intervenes
into the lawsuit,
the government's attorneys,
the Department of Justice,
the Attorney General take over the case.
If the government is successful
in reaching a settlement,
or a verdict after trial,
the whistleblower
or relator is entitled to compensation.
It can be from 15-25% of the amount
recovered by the government.
Many of these cases
are often multimillion dollar cases,
with the relators
receiving millions of dollars
for having
brought the fraud to light.
Whistleblower
who suffer from retaliation,
because of their involvement
in a qui tam lawsuit
may sue for reinstatement,
double back pay,
and additional damages
such as emotional distress
where appropriate.
False Claim Act cases are very technical.
They require a great degree of skill
and understanding of how the courts work.
My firm has handled
a number of these cases,
and has helped retrieve millions
of dollars for the government.
If you believe you are a whistleblower,
contact a lawyer promptly.
Make sure that
you're dealing with somebody
who knows
how to handle one of these cases,
and help recover
money for our government.
There could be a very significant
bounty for you if you do so.
