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False Claims Act
The False Claims Act, or 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, was put into force in an effort to prevent fraud against the government in which government funds or property may be compromised. In other words, the False Claims Act states that any intentional false claims that may be filed that result in the payment of government funds to an individual or another entity could leave the offending individual, company, or program liable for up to three times the amount of damages the government incurred. That can equal up to $11,000 per fraudulent claim.
There are also strict rules against this type of fraud such as the fact that, if an employee of the U.S. government or a member of the military is presented with this fraudulent claim, the offender is still subject to the penalties that are stated above. These individuals have direct affiliation with the government, so the false claim also affects them. It is important that anyone with knowledge of false claims come forward. This is where Qui Tam comes into play, as does the role private citizen.
Do You Have a False Claims Act Lawsuit? »
If a private citizen knows that their place of work is committing fraud against the government, they have the ability to file a Qui Tam lawsuit. What this does is put a stop to the fraud and requires the company to pay the money back to the government. Legally, the whistleblower is also protected from any type of retaliation for reporting False Claims Act violations that their employer has committed. If the employer demotes or punishes the employee in any way, they have violated the law and could be subject to even more damages.
As you can see, Qui Tam is a very important aspect of the False Claims Act because it is the main tool to preventing intentional fraud against the United States government. The law itself was developed because the government needed a lot of help against fraud and now the government has the ability to employ the knowledge of the private citizen through Qui Tam to identify violations.
As for who can be a Qui Tam plaintiff, anyone can as long as the fraud committed by the individual or group has not already been disclosed. The individual should have adequate knowledge and have had some sort of direct exposure to the acts that they are reporting. If this is you, then it is very important to contact one of our lawyers today and inform us of the False Claims Act violations that you have direct knowledge of. You are not only providing a great service to the government, but you are also providing a great service to the millions of taxpayers throughout the United States. Contact our lawyers today to find out more.
