If you observe something dangerous or illegal going on at your workplace, you may be considering reporting it to authorities. However, this may be a frightening situation, as you may wonder if your employer will choose to retaliate by terminating your job.
Whistleblowers should be protected against an employer or other entity seeking to harm them for trying to do the right thing. At the Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, our team may be able to help defend the rights of those who may be at risk of harm.
Call us at (800) 794-0444 for a free case review. A Los Angeles qui tam lawyer may be able to help protect the rights and well-being of people who are trying to perform their civil duties.
What Is Qui Tam?
According to the National Whistleblower Center, qui tam is a provision in the federal False Claims Act. This act initially came into being during the Civil War thanks to President Abraham Lincoln in the early 1860s. It targeted fraud occurring among businesses supplying soldiers with goods, allowing those who witnessed the fraud to report it without fear of repercussion.
Qui tam is the act of a whistleblower filing a lawsuit on behalf of the government to recover losses related to the fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. After filing the lawsuit, the government may begin an investigation into the allegations.
Potential Financial Rewards for a Whistleblower
Should the whistleblower’s information lead to a financial recovery, the False Claims Act allows the person who reported the fraud to potentially receive a percentage of the recovered money as a reward.
In a typical qui tam lawsuit, it may be possible for the whistleblower that is the first to report the fraud to receive between 15 to 25 percent of the total amount recovered in the case.
Sometimes, these rewards may be large for the whistleblower.
Help with Filing the Lawsuit
A lawyer may be able to help a whistleblower file their qui tam action. It may be important for you as a whistleblower to consider speaking to an attorney before taking any action or reporting the fraud to anyone else.
If you reveal what you know without legal protection, you may compromise the claim you may be entitled to, and you could jeopardize the validity of the case. By speaking to an attorney, your information may remain protected by attorney-client confidentiality until legal proceedings begin.
You Do Not Have to Feel Alone
After reporting an illegal activity, the whistleblower may feel alone. Their employer may threaten the whistleblower for reporting the activity, including demotions to less desirable jobs.
The employer also may instruct co-workers to stay away from and not talk to the whistleblower, leaving him or her feeling isolated and threatened for reporting activities like falsifying financial documents, or failing to follow laws related to operating as a publicly held company.
If you file a whistleblower lawsuit, you may be entitled to receive awards for lost wages, reduced wages, emotional trauma, psychological stress, or more.
Let Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Represent Your Interests
At Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, we may be able to help you with these feelings of fear and isolation. Our team believes powerful entities should not be able to punish whistleblowing employees for doing the right thing.
A Los Angeles qui tam lawyer may be able to support you and help you seek compensation you may be entitled to. Contact us for a free case review.
For a free legal consultation with a Qui Tam Lawyer serving Los Angeles, call (800) 794-0444
Reporting Fraud at the State Level
For those who have witnessed fraud or corruption at the state level, the state of California has its own False Claims Act. Contacting an attorney familiar with qui tam law early in the process may help you protect your rights in a case involving the state government.
Common Cases Related to Qui Tam
Some types of cases in which a whistleblower may be involved in reporting fraud or illegal activity at the state or federal level include:
- Delivering faulty products: where the supplier purposefully used poor workmanship to save money in creating products for the government or military.
- Failure to deliver services: where a government contractor lies about the services it has delivered, attempting to seek payment for work the contractor did not actually complete.
- Financial claims: where someone files a claim for governmental benefits to which he or she has no rights to receive.
- Generating false statements: where someone may lie on a tax form or on another type of financial form in an effort to defraud the government.
- Medicare and Medicaid fraud: where a health care provider creates false or overinflated medical claims for a patient, attempting to receive more money from the government program than the health care provider may be entitled to for the services provided.
- Overcharging: where a supplier to the government creates an invoice with false or inflated financial figures, attempting to overcharge the government for supplied goods or services.
- Property claims: where someone attempts to sell property belonging to the government when he or she has no rights to the property, resulting in a case of fraud.
Los Angeles Qui Tam Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Our Team May Be Ready to Stand at Your Side
A Los Angeles qui tam lawyer may be able to help protect your interests throughout the case. Our team knows how big corporations and other entities may try to treat whistleblowers, and we may be ready to counteract their actions.
The team at the Pintas & Mullins Law Firm may study the facts in the case, and once you hire us, we may stand by your side from the start of the proceedings through a court trial, if necessary.
Call us at (800) 794-0444 for a free review of your case. We operate on a contingency-fee basis, which means you do not pay anything up front to hire us.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form