Whistleblower

Contracts with the federal and state government are often highly coveted because of the amount of money involved. It will come as no surprise to most of us that there are many companies that conduct business with the government that conduct business in a dishonest manner, costing taxpayers millions of dollars annually. While the government sometimes is able to uncover such fraud on its own, it also relies on private citizens to report fraud. Whistleblower claims, also referred to as qui tam claims, are civil lawsuits that help the government stop fraud. In a qui tam claim, an employee reports his or her employer for cheating the government. In exchange, the employee is compensated with a percentage of the money recovered from the dishonest employer. If you believe you have a whistleblower claim, it is critical that you act quickly and contact an experienced Los Angeles Whistleblower Lawyer who will makes sure your claim is filed properly so that your receive the reward to which you are entitled.

Whistleblower claims in California can be are brought under the federal False Claims Act or the California False Claims Act. Under the federal False Claims Act, an individual who has evidence of fraud can bring a False Claims Act lawsuit against his or her employer on behalf of the United States Government. The government will conduct an investigation into the claim and make a decision as to whether or not it will intervene and join the action. If the government declines, the individual who brought the claim has the right to proceed on his or her own. Whistleblower claims are filed confidentially. Thus, the defendant in the case is not made aware that it is being investigated.

If a defendant is found to have defrauded the government, the defendant may be required to pay the government up to three times the dollar amount that the government was defrauded plus civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each false claim. As a reward, a qui tam plaintiff can receive between 15-30% of the total recovery from the defendant, whether through a favorable judgment or settlement. In order to be eligible for the reward, the whistleblower must not merely report the fraud to the government. The whistleblower must file a qui tam lawsuit and funds must actually be recovered.

Similarly, the California False Claims Act gives individuals to right to file claims against companies who have defrauded the California state and local governments and receive a reward if the case is successful and money is recovered.

• Defense contractor fraud, including product substitution, cross charging, and failure to comply with contract specifications.
• Financial industry fraud, including fraudulent municipal transactions and FHA mortgages
• Construction project fraud
• Health care fraud, including kickbacks, false certifications, upcoding and unbundling, fraudulent cost reports, lack of medical necessity, and Medicaid and Medicare fraud.

In 2015, Quest Diagnostics Inc. paid the United States $1.79 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act. This settlement resolves allegations that Quest Diagnostics submitted duplicative claims to Medicare for certain services and diagnostic. The whistleblower in this case will receive $358,000 of the recovery proceeds.

In 2000, W.R. Grace & Co. agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle allegations that it defrauded libraries, schools and government offices across the country by deliberately overcharging them for millions of books. After investigating the allegations, the Justice Department and the state of California joined the lawsuit. Seventeen other states subsequently were granted permission to intervene. The settlement involved payments to the federal government, the state of California and 17 other states.

If you believe that you have inside information regarding a potential whistleblower claim, it is important you discuss the specifics of your case with an experienced employment lawyer to ensure that your claim is handled properly. You may be entitled to a significant reward if your claim is successful. The staff at VAKILI & LEUS, LLP has years of experience successfully representing clients in a variety of employment-related cases including whistleblower claims, wage-and-hour claims, employment discrimination and other employment law violations. Keep in mind that there are time limits to filing claims. Contact us at 1-855-52LA-LAW (1-855-525-2529) to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your concerns related to your employment.