What is the whistle blower act and how does the federal or State whistle blower acts work?

What is the whistle blower act and how does the federal or State whistle blower acts work?

This article answers the questions, “What is the whistle blower act?” and “How does the federal and State whistle blower acts work?”

Most people are not aware that there are federal and State whistle blower acts. The good news is that federal whistle blower act is very successful and has resulted in the Department of Justice collecting over $25 billion from companies that cheat or defraud the government. Over one-half of the States have also enacted whistle blower acts. The reason these whistle blower acts are so successful is because they pay whistle blowers big monetary rewards for reporting fraud against the government.

The federal whistle blower acts is known as the False Claims Act. This popular federal whistle blower act is a federal statute that permits the government to pay whistle blower rewards of between 15-25% of what the federal government collects from those who violate the whistle blower act by committing fraud against the federal government. Many states also have similar State False Claims Act whistle blower acts.

In order to receive a whistle blower reward under either a federal or State whistle blower act, you cannot simply call a hotline or report the fraud to a government official. Rather, under the whistle blower acts, you must hire an attorney to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of the federal government. This is known as a “qui tam” civil lawsuit. Most attorneys experienced in filing for rewards under whistle blower acts take cases on a contingency basis.

Under the whistle blower acts, you must allege specific and detailed facts setting forth how the company violated the whistle blower acts by cheating the government. It is important to carefully select your attorney to file your reward claim under the whistle blower acts because the government turns down 75% of reward applications.

The whistle blower reward under the whistle blower acts is based on the amount of money the government actually collects from the wrongdoer. For instance, if you report that a company defrauded Medicare by $10 million, under a whistle blower act, you could receive a reward of between $1.5 million and $3 million.

The whistle blower acts apply anytime a person or company cheats the government, whether it is healthcare or military, and applies to all government programs, contracts or grants.

Under the federal and State whistle blower acts, if someone defrauds the government, such as lying about goods or services, they are liable to the government to repay triple the amount that the company cheats the government. The whistle blower acts pay a whistle blower reward if you properly report the fraud under the whistle blower acts.

If you work for a company that is committing fraud against the government, you might be eligible for a reward under the federal whistle blower act. The first step is to contact an attorney experienced with the whistle blower acts to assess your case. But don’t delay because only the first whistle blower to properly file under the whistle blower act is eligible for a reward.

Once your attorney files a complaint and reward application under the federal whistle blower act for reporting fraud against the federal government, the Department of Justice will evaluate your allegations. If the federal government accepts a case under the federal whistle blower act the whistle blower receives a reward.

Because there are risks for reporting fraud against the government, you should talk to an attorney experienced with the federal whistle blower act before reporting fraud to the government. Your communications with an attorney is confidentially even if you later decide not to file for a reward under the whistle blower act.

The rest of this website answers in more detail what is the federal whistle blower act and how the federal and State whistle blower acts work. The website walks you through the process of reporting fraud against the federal government and shows you how to apply for a monetary reward under the federal or State whistle blower acts.

Mr. Hesch can review your potential case and help you decide if you should file for a reward under the federal or State whistle blower acts.

See the link at the bottom of the page  “Do I have a case” to have Mr. Hesch review your potential whistle blower reward case under the federal whistle blower act or state whistle blower acts. See the link at the bottom of the page “Report Fraud” to learn more about government whistle blower acts and reward programs.

Click on this link to read this article in pdf format: What is the whistleblower act – pdf version