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The term “Qui Tam” has been around for
centuries and it comes from a Latin phrase
that means “he who brings an action for the
king as well as himself.” Qui Tam or
Whistle-blower laws are used by the
government as a means to combat fraud. This
law is meant to persuade moral individuals
to come forward when they become aware of
fraudulent activities or false claims being
committed against the government. Basically,
Qui Tam affords a private citizen the right
to file a lawsuit on behalf of the U.S.
government under the Civil False Claims Act
in an effort to recover losses caused by
fraud against the government. The law is an
incentive for civilians who know of
individuals or companies making false claims
for profit to come forward with information.
The False Claims Act states that
whistle-blowers be rewarded with a
percentage of the money that the government
recovers as a result of their Qui Tam
lawsuits. This provision helps encourage
people to assist the government in reducing
Medicare fraud; defense fraud and other
kinds of fraud despite the effect
whistle-blowing might have on their jobs and
personal lives.
Under the False Claims Act the government
may recover up to three times the amount of
money it lost as a result of the defendant's
fraud. The whistle-blower's share is
calculated based upon the amount the
government recovers, not the actual losses.
A number of factors determine how much money
a whistle-blower will receive if the
government is able to recover money from the
defendant. If the government joins the case,
the whistle-blower is entitled to at least
15 percent but not more than 25 percent of
what the government recovers.
If the government declines to join the case
and the whistle-blower continues with a suit
against the defendant, the whistle-blower is
entitled to at least 25 percent but not more
than 30 percent of the money the government
recovers.
The law firm of Sheller Ludwig & Badey is
currently investigating several
Whistle-blower (Qui Tam) cases. As a reward
for filing a qui tam lawsuit the
whistleblower is entitled to a percentage of
the money recovered by the government. And
the False Claims Act protects whistleblowers
who file Qui Tam lawsuits from being fired,
demoted and harassed by their employer. |
