Whistleblower eligible for a reward for filing case in which a Court grants $34 million judgment in whistleblower suit
This week a federal district court granted judgment in the amount of $34 million in a qui tam whistleblower reward case filed by attorney Joel D. Hesch on behalf of a whistleblower. This is a great victory and achievement not only for the government but for the whistleblower, who is now entitled to a monetary reward for reporting fraud against the government.
The whistleblower worked for a clinic that was cheating the government through a scheme where it would pay illegal kickback payments to recruiters, who in turn paid people to show up at the clinic who were not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid and did not require medical services, in order for the clinic to bilk government healthcare programs. The whistleblower did the right thing by stepping forward to report the fraud against the government. In order to be eligible for a reward, a whistleblower, however, must not only report the fraud, but hire an attorney and file a qui tam case in federal court outlining the fraud allegations. Attorney Joel D. Hesch assisted the whistleblower through the process of filing the qui tam complaint and applying for a reward. After years of litigation, the court issued a ruling today that the Defendants are liable for $34 million in damages under the False Claims Act as alleged in the qui tam case filed by Mr. Hesch on behalf of the whistleblower. Under the statute, the whistleblower is now entitled to between 15% and 25% of the recovery in this qui tam case.
Justice was achieved today. Fraud against Medicare and Medicaid is hurting our economy and taking precious resources away from those who really need healthcare. That’s why Joel Hesch encourages whistleblowers to step forward to report fraud against the government and claim a much deserved monetary reward. This case pushes the total judgments obtained by Joel Hesch under the False Claims Act to over $1.7 billion, consisting of cases Joel worked on while working for the Department of Justice for 16 years in the whistleblower reward office and the last 9 years of representing whistleblowers who file for rewards.
Joel salutes his client, who is a hero, for being willing to report fraud against the government. Mr. Hesch also encourages you to contact him in confidence to find out if you have the right type of case of fraud against the government in which a monetary reward is available.