The disclosure statement is perhaps the most essential document a relator prepares when initiating a qui tam suit. Since 1986, the federal government has recovered just over $12 billion dollars from false claim submissions,2 and Texas alone has recovered approximately $5 million dollars.3 III. If any money is recovered, the whistleblower, known as a relator, receives a substantial reward. Once a private citizen, usually an employee of the company that is defrauding the government, blows the whistle, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will investigate the case and decide whether it wants to intervene. The federal False Claims Act (FCA), initially passed in the Civil War-era and later updated by the 1986 amendments, provides private citizens with monetary incentives to report fraud, including Medicaid fraud, by government contractors. It will also provide guidance into the mechanisms for proper preparation and filing, as well as some insight into the more common and successful types of qui tam actions. This article will guide you through the process of evaluating a potential federal qui tam action, including the complex statutory issues of public disclosure and original source. INTRODUCTIONĪ current or former employee of a corporation walks into your office with a story about fraud against the federal and state governments. And every right of the people and the Government will be protected.1” I. Counsel will be instructed to prosecute these cases in the courts so that if there is any guilt it will be punished if there is any civil liability it will be enforced if there is any fraud it will be revealed and if there are any contracts which are illegal they will be canceled. I propose to employ special counsel of high rank drawn from both political parties to bring such actions for the enforcement of the law. If there has been any property of the United States illegally transferred or leased, it must be recovered. “If there has been any crime, it must be prosecuted.
Federal Qui Tam: The Government’s Watchdog
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