A qui tam case, also referred to as a whistleblower case, is an effective way for citizens to assist the government by “blowing the whistle” and putting an end to cases of fraud against the government. Anyone with evidence of fraud against federal programs or government contracts may file a qui tam lawsuit. The whistleblower sues the wrongdoer on behalf of the United States Government, and stands to recover a portion of the recovery for their efforts.

The False Claims Act provides strong protection provisions to whistleblowers.

In a qui tam lawsuit, those who report the fraud may be in jeopardy because they take professional and personal risks by exposing the fraudulent actions.

Your qui tam attorney will file the complaint under seal in federal district court. This means the qui tam lawsuit is kept secret from everyone but the government, during which time the Justice Department investigates the allegations. This is generally a period of 60 days but can remain under seal for several years.

The government examines the allegations, and may decide to join in the case. The government is going to focus on:

• What is the harm to the government?
• What evidence does the plaintiff have to substantiate the qui tam claim?

If the government does not join the action, the plaintiff may still elect to pursue the qui tam case on their own.