A whistleblower should have detailed information about fraud based on personal knowledge and evidence — not just from public sources like the internet or the news, although in rare cases outsiders still can succeed with a whistleblower claim.  To understand whether you can qualify as a whistleblower under the False Claims Act or other statutes, you should speak with a whistleblower law firm that specializes in protecting whistleblowers.

Medicare & Medicaid whistleblowers receive hundreds of millions of dollars each year for exposing unlawful activity, on top of saving lives and taxpayer money. Under the FCA, an intervened whistleblower lawsuit can result in a whistleblower reward up to 25% of the total recovery, with an average False Claims Act intervened settlement of around $13 million dollars. If the whistleblower proceeds and succeeds without the government’s intervention, the  whistleblower award can be as high as 30% of the total amount recovered and oftentimes there’s other state law statutes that may trigger additional damages for a successful qui tam case.

The whistleblower lawyers at Brown, LLC work hard to maximize your whistleblower award if successful, because the firm is only paid if you win your case. 

The law has rigorous mechanisms prohibiting employers from terminating you for being a whistleblower under the False Claims Act for Medicare Fraud or any other type of fraud. But you must blow the whistle in the right way in order to enjoy these protections.  When you first file the False Claims Act case it will be filed confidentially under seal and the company may not learn of it for many years.  The whistleblower lawyers at Brown, LLC will work with you to go over timetables and likely trajectories of the qui tam lawsuit.  

Yes, there are strict timelines for filing whistleblower lawsuits. Furthermore, only the first whistleblower to file is entitled to a whistleblower award. You are not only racing against the clock, but also against other potential whistleblowers. 

A qui tam lawsuit, also known as a whistleblower lawsuit, is generally filed pursuant to the False Claims Act (FCA), which requires the use of a whistleblower attorney. The case must be filed under seal with proper notice given to the various government agencies on behalf of the whistleblower, also known as a relator.

Brown, LLC has a whistleblower division led by Jason T. Brown, a former FBI Special Agent and Legal Advisor.  Our team has participated in cases that have led to settlement and judgments in excess of a hundred million dollars for the taxpayer and significant whistleblower awards for our clients. Because the whistleblowing process is complex and with many potential pitfalls, it is essential to have an experience whistleblower lawyer by your side who can help you present the strongest case to the government and potentially litigate the matter if the government passed on the case. 

Other types of fraud reporting that may generate whistleblower awards

– Securities fraud takes place when companies seek to manipulate stock prices by, among other things, making false and misleading statements to investors or in their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), engaging in insider trading, churning accounts, charging excessive fees, and failing to give best pricing. With the use of an SEC whistleblower lawyer, you can potentially remain anonymous from start to finish.

– Commodities fraud is addressed through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Whistleblower Program, which targets manipulations of commodity futures, options, and swaps that harm investors and consumers. If you know of abusive or deceptive conduct by banks, financial firms, and other entities involved in the sale and exchange of commodities derivatives and other financial instruments, you may be entitled to a significant whistleblower award.

– Tax fraud can be reported to the IRS if you have credible information that an entity or individual is knowingly evading federal tax liability. If the value of the underpayment exceeds $2 million, you may be entitled to a portion of the amount collected. Additionally, if the tax fraud occurs in New York, the New York False Claims Act permits whistleblowers to  privately sue those who knowingly fail to pay state taxes on behalf of the government which in recent years has led to major recoveries.

– Money laundering occurs when money is routed through banks and  other financial entities in a way that conceals the source of those funds. The recently-enacted Anti-Money Laundering Act awards whistleblowers up to 30% of the proceeds recovered in any judicial or administrative proceeding against a financial institution, business or other entity committing money laundering.  One example of money laundering is in the cannabis industry, where banks and other entities have held or routed proceeds of marijuana sales, which, although legalized in some states, remain illegal under federal law.

Some examples of actionable vs non-actionable whistleblower cases:

Actionable: You have insider knowledge that a hospital is providing kickbacks to non-employees in exchange for incoming referrals of Medicare or Medicaid patients. This is actionable under the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Non-Actionable: Your neighbor is receiving Medicare benefits despite not being eligible. This is not actionable under the False Claims Act because it is too particularized with no evidence of systemic Medicare fraud. The conduct may still be criminal, but is unlikely to lead to a whistleblower award under the FCA.