WHISTLE BLOWER CONSUMER
Can I Be a Whistleblower?
The False Claims Act allows a person or group to act as whistleblowers. Whistle blowers can be paid for providing information or for suing the wrongdoer on behalf of the government. When a Whistle blower advances their own case on behalf of the government it is referred to as a “qui tam” claim. In “qui tam” cases, the whistleblower is referred to as the “relator.”
Whistleblower compensation can be denied if authorities already know the basis of the claims. If you are a potential whistle blower, consider contacting this office first and before informing the press or the authorities.
If a claim originated by a whistleblower, with no prior government knowledge is successful, the Whistleblower is entitled to a percentage recovery ranging from 15 to 30 percent of the total amount of monies the government recoups. Any person or entity that has evidence of a fraud occurring against the government may act as a whistleblower under the False Claims Act.
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Bonsignore Trial Lawyers are Experienced in Obtaining Recoveries for Whistleblowers
Bonsignore Trial Lawyers have represented whistleblowers in a wide range of federal False Claims Act and other non-traditional whistleblower cases. In fact we have pushed the envelope to have our clients who exposed wrongdoing in non-traditional settings paid. Bonsignore Trial Lawyers has the resources, experience, and skill to appropriately investigate even the largest and most complex matters and take them it all the way through trial. Our cases remain under investigation by governmental authorities and we cannot list our current Qui Tam cases.
Keep in mind the False Claims Act prohibits people and companies from defrauding the federal government by knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment or approval. The act is designed and intended to prevent the federal government from incurring economic loss from fraudulent schemes. Violations of the False Claims Act can result in judgment in an amount equal to three times the amount of losses the U.S. Treasury sustained, plus civil fines.
Almost any type of fraud in which the government has paid money, or has been billed for money, based on fraudulent claims likely falls under the False Claims Act. While Medicare and military contract fraud account for many successful whistle blower claims, other successful cases have focused on education, farm, environmental, and energy federal funding. We even advanced a whistle blower case related to a large trucking company fraudulently logging drivers hours and making unscrupulous payroll and drivers’ log book adjustments.
Other Whistleblower Laws
Most states have Whistle Blower statutes and claims involving fraud committed upon state governments are most likely actionable. The IRS also has a whistleblower provision for tax fraud. Whistleblowers who provide the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with information about a violation of federal securities laws may be entitled to a reward if the government acts on that information. This Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act type whistleblower case offers whistleblowers ten (10) to thirty (30) percent of the amount the government recoups as compensation