Qui tam lawsuits are a type of lawsuit that has become a powerful way for whistleblowers to help the government stop Medicare and Medicaid fraud, defense contractor fraud and numerous other types of frauds that impact the government financially – and recover billions that have been stolen from the U.S. Treasury and taxpayers.

1. An Overview Of Whistleblower Law
Qui tam lawsuits explained – How does a qui tam case work?
Qui tam lawsuits are a type of lawsuit that has become a powerful way for whistleblowers to
help the government stop Medicare and Medicaid fraud, defense contractor fraud and numerous
other types of frauds that impact the government financially – and recover billions that have been
stolen from the U.S. Treasury and taxpayers. (Tax frauds and securities law violations are
handled differently.)
Qui tam lawsuits also allow whistleblowers to get rewarded for the professional and personal
risks they take to expose and stop fraud against the government – fraud that can endanger the
lives of patients, U.S. soldiers and others.
Overview of qui tam cases
Once a person has evidence of fraud against the government and decides to blow the whistle, that
person needs to find a lawyer to represent him. Careful consideration should be given to the
hiring decision as the work by that lawyer will be key to the success of the qui tam case and will

2. be a major factor in determining whether the whistleblower will receive a reward and the amount
of the reward.
Under the False Claims Act, a private citizen may sue an individual or a business that is
defrauding the government and recover funds on the government’s behalf. The lawsuit is filed
“under seal,” meaning that it is kept secret from everyone but the government to give the Justice
Department time to investigate the allegations. Even the person or entity being accused of fraud
is not told about the qui tam case. The qui tam lawsuit and supporting documents should provide
the government with detailed information about the fraud.
The government investigates the allegations, often with the assistance of the whistleblower’s
attorney, and ultimately decides whether it will join in the case. The government joins only a
small percentage of qui tam lawsuits. Although whistleblowers have the option under the False
Claims Act to pursue qui tam cases on their own, the chances of success are much higher when
the government joins.
Defendants found liable under the False Claims Act may have to pay as much as three times the
government’s losses plus penalties for each false claim.
The amount of the whistleblower reward depends on many factors, including the quality of the
case as presented to the Justice Department and the work of the whistleblower’s attorney to help
the qui tam case succeed. If the government intervenes in the case and recovers funds through a
settlement or a trial, the whistleblower, or “relator,” is entitled to 15 percent to 25 percent of the
recovery. If the government doesn’t intervene in the case and it is pursued by the whistleblower
team, the whistleblower reward is between 25 and 30 percent of the recovery.For more
information log onto : http://sdfrlaw.com