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Why the First Step for Whistleblowers Should Be Calling a Lawyer Instead of a Hotline
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Catching fraud is a little like finding a golden ticket in a toilet! In this case, however, it does not always lead to a chocolate factory. Just because you found it does not mean you get to keep the prize. In whistleblower law, the first step you take after your discovery can decide whether you walk away with a slice of the recovery or watch someone else claim it entirely.
So you do what most people would do…
Search things like: How to report Medicare fraud
A government hotline pops up at the top of the page. It looks official. It sounds anonymous. Hotlines work for the government, not you. Make that first call, and you may lose your confidentiality and your financial award under the first-to-file rule if you delay in reporting it the right way. Picking up the phone and dialing a whistleblower law firm right away will protect your identity under certain whistleblower statutes like the SEC & CFTC whistleblower program and help guide your case from the very start.
Government fraud hotlines serve as an important function for public use. However, they are not designed to represent individual whistleblowers. Calling a hotline can create three immediate risks. To start, you may jeopardize eligibility for recovery under the False Claims Act’s “first-to-file” rule, which states that only the first whistleblower to file a case about a particular fraud can pursue it; therefore, you may end up with no financial award, since reporting to a hotline is completely different than filing under the False Claims Act. Second, hotline communications are not protected by the attorney-client privilege, potentially exposing your identity and statements to the defendants unless you are given assurances to the contrary. Lastly, hotlines serve as an “intake channel for the government,” not providing advice on secondary steps to stake your whistleblower claim, preserve your rights and protect you from whistleblower retaliation.
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Every central enforcement agency has its hotline–Medicare’s 1-800-MEDICARE tip line or the IRS’s whistleblower hotline, but there is no transparency. Without legal representation, you have no control over how your case is handled and there’s no attribution to you if they fine the defendant. Plenty of cases come to some of the best whistleblower law firms when it’s too late, the fine is already levied, and there’s no switch to put things in reverse and retroactively claim an award.
Think of a whistleblower case like boarding a bullet train. It is moving fast, doors are closing quickly, and you have to jump on the right one to get where you are going. A whistleblower law firm will serve as your conductor who makes sure you are in the right seat at the right time and heading to the right destination.
What Is a Qui Tam Lawsuit Under the False Claims Act?
From the moment you reach out to the whistleblower law firm, your conversations are confidential and protected by an attorney-client privilege. You can share details and documents without the back-of-the-mind concern that they will be leaked. Your lawyer will map out the “train route,” deciding whether your claim should be filed as a qui tam action or through another whistleblower program.
A qui tam case is a whistleblower lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act where a private citizen (“realtor”) sues on behalf of the government and may receive up to 30% of the recovery.
False Claims Act First-to-File Rule: What It Is and Why It Can Cost You
Imagine walking into a bakery, ordering the biggest cake in the case, and watching someone next to you walk out with it because you did not pay quickly enough. That is the “first-to-file” rule in whistleblower law, which incentivizes the person who gets their claim first, and NOT necessarily the person who discovered the fraud.
Here is the secret…If you call a government hotline first, the agency might take your information and start investigating. Therefore, you can lose your legal right to collect a share of the recovery if someone files before you do, even if you were the one who uncovered the fraud. Still, you may have some rights as the original source, but the person that files first is in the right train with all the power, file second, even if you’re the original source, you’re on the tracks, but on a hand car trying to pump the trolley and trying to catch up to the train with the engine and you know how that goes.
In a real Medicare fraud case, two medical assistants worked at a clinic in Texas where they discovered two doctors were submitting fraudulent claims. They reported the fraud to government agencies (including law enforcement) instead of filing a qui tam lawsuit. Because of the first-to-file rule, they were not entitled to a financial share, and they lost between $5.5 million and $11 million of False Claims Act whistleblower awards.[1]
The same risk applies outside of healthcare. An individual found that “dumping” incomplete background check files was being done to meet specific quotas. He filed a qui tam lawsuit, and the Department of Justice later intervened. He later received 20% of the recovery, totaling over $6 million. If he had gone to a government hotline, he could have been excluded from the financial recovery if someone filed before him.[2]
A whistleblower lawyer ensures you get in line, claim your cake, and keep your share before someone else walks away with it. If the first-to-file rule is the bakery line, a quality whistleblower law firm will try to make sure you are at the front of the line, ticket in hand, and ready to claim the cake you found.
Why Choose Brown, LLC for Your Whistleblower Case
Although the head of our firm and others come from a government background (Department of Justice, FBI) We do not work for the government.
We work for you.
We protect your confidentiality from day one.
We strive to preserve your eligibility for a 15-30% share of the government’s recovery and are only paid if we obtain that result for you.
We build cases that grab the government’s attention and lead to real results.
Led by a former FBI Special Agent and Legal Advisor, Brown, LLC has uncovered fraud in industries from defense contractors to pharmaceutical, to other health care practitioners defrauding Medicare and Medicaid to the SEC. One of the elite whistleblower law firms , achieving back-to-back nine-figure settlements totaling over $1 billion in recovery, with at least 5 confirmed settlements and judgments and enforcement actions totaling $100 million or more. When the stakes are high, we make sure you are not just in the game…we work hard to make sure you are in the lead.
In whistleblower law, timing isn’t just important. It is everything. Every day you wait is a day someone else could take your place in line.
We know how to protect your rights.
The clock starts ticking the moment you uncover fraud. Call a whistleblower lawyer first, and you lock in your rights and try to maximize your chance at a recovery while doing the right thing.
Check out this update on 2024 breaking records for qui tam whistleblower cases.
United States (ex rel. Babaola) v. Dr. Arun Sharma, 746 F.3d (5th Cir. Feb. 28, 2014). Accessed February 5, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-government-intervenes-false-claims-lawsuit-against-united-states-investigations-services.
United States of America ex rel. Blake Percival v. U.S. Investigations Services, LLC, (11th Cir. Oct. 30, 2013). Accessed February 5, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/us-government-intervenes-false-claims-lawsuit-against-united-states-investigations-services.
