False Claim Act/Qui Tam Lawsuits

The United States government pays trillions of dollars each year to private businesses for products and services. When those companies fail to deliver on their contracts with the government or overcharge for those products and services, the costs to American citizens run into billions of dollars in fraud. Many such cases are discovered by people close to the fraud - employees of the businesses involved. The federal False Claims Act enables an employee (called a "relator") who discovers this type of wrongdoing to file a fraud claim with the government. The employee is protected from reprisals (wrongful termination, harassment, or demotion) by the Whistleblower Protection Act. These special types of fraud claims are often referred to as "qui tam" lawsuits, so named for the shortened version of a Latin phrase:

"Qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso"
"Who sues on behalf of the king, as well as for himself"

A relator who successfully brings a qui tam lawsuit is entitled to a percentage of the money the government is able to recover. If you have knowledge that your employer is defrauding the United States government, contact Andy Tindel. He will explain your whistleblower rights and file your fraud claim. Do not tell anyone else. The first person reporting a fraud is the person who will be rewarded in a successful lawsuit. In some cases, even people outside the company may have knowledge of fraud, such as the family of a nursing home patient may discover fraudulent charges to Medicare or Medicaid, that will allow you to file a qui tam lawsuit.

Examples of the type of fraud on the government cases that are subject to exposure and remedy by individual citizens through the device of a qui tam actions include:

• Procurement fraud: False billing and delivering substandard products or services 

• Medicaid and Medicare fraud: Billing for services not rendered or over-billing by hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, pharmacies, home health care agencies, laboratories

• Nursing home fraud: Billing for inappropriate services or undelivered services, over-billing for services or supplies

• Defense contractor fraud: Inflated bills or bills for substandard products from contractors or subcontractors

• False statements on contract compliance

• False statements on labor, environmental, anti-kickback, or competitive bidding compliance

Call Andy Tindel at the Tyler office of Provost Umphrey Law Firm now (800-392-4031) for a Free Initial Case Evaluation.