August 19, 2024
A person who decides to become a “whistleblower” in an federal False Claims Act (FCA) or California False Claims Act (CFCA) lawsuit stands to earn a substantial financial reward if the lawsuit is successful. In FCA claims, the whistleblower plaintiff is eligible to receive between 15 and 30 percent of the total financial penalties imposed, and those in a CFCA case can receive between 15 and 50 percent of the financial penalties imposed. Many billions of dollars of financial penalties have been imposed in both FCA and CFCA cases, and many multi-million dollar financial rewards have been paid out to whistleblowers over the years.
However, the road from deciding to become a whistleblower to collecting a hefty financial reward is a long one – typically a matter of years – and a complex one at that. Done poorly and without experienced counsel and guidance, attempting to become an FCA whistleblower might leave you as a pariah in your industry with little if anything to show for your efforts. Thus, before moving forward with an FCA lawsuit, it is important to take the proper preliminary steps.
Do You Have Sufficient Evidence for an FCA Lawsuit?
Lawsuits of all kinds live and die on the question of whether the plaintiff has admissible (i.e. not speculation or inadmissible hearsay) evidence to support the claim that the defendant engaged in violative conduct. In a federal FCA lawsuit, the plaintiff must be able to meet a baseline level of evidence of wrongdoing and fraudulent intent to survive a motion to dismiss at the outset of the case at a time before the defendant is required to provide information in discovery.
Additionally, a key aspect of an FCA lawsuit is attempting to persuade the federal government to intervene in your case, which provides significant benefits in adding credibility to your case and harnessing the manpower and resources of federal prosecutors to your cause. Without sufficient evidence at the outset that yours is a winnable case, the federal government is unlikely to intervene.
By working with experienced FCA counsel at the beginning of your case (and certainly prior to filing a complaint or making your intention to file an FCA lawsuit known), you can better assess the sufficiency of the evidence in your possession and present it in the most persuasive manner.
Are You Able to Obtain Further Evidence to Support Your Case?
Following from the above, your counsel can work with you to collect and present additional evidence to bolster your case. This is a delicate and complex process, and your counsel will guide you on ways to collect the correct type of relevant, admissible evidence that supports your claims and do so in a way that does not violate the law, expose you to unhelpful scrutiny and retaliation, or otherwise impair your ability to move forward with a successful FCA lawsuit.
Has Another Plaintiff Filed an FCA Lawsuit Based on the Same Information (Or Are They About To)?
Without a doubt, the vast majority of conduct that violates the FCA (Medicaid and Medicare fraud, military procurement fraud, customs fraud, PPP fraud, etc.) goes unnoticed and does not result in an FCA lawsuit, thus there are many untaken opportunities for would-be whistleblowers out there to file a successful FCA lawsuit.
However, it is important to keep in mind that if multiple FCA lawsuits are filed based on the same conduct, then generally only the lawsuit that is filed first will be allowed to continue. For example, if a major pharmaceutical company is engaging in Medicare fraud by submitting false pricing information to the government (which is the type of FCA suit that might result in hundreds of millions of dollars of financial penalties) and dozens of people in the company are aware of this fraud, it is very likely the case that only the first person who moves forward with filing a federal complaint based on this information will be entitled to receive a financial reward.
Has the Statute of Limitations Run on Your Case?
Per the applicable statute of limitations, an FCA lawsuit is required to be filed within six years of the illegal conduct, or within three years of when the government knew or should have known about the conduct, but in no case longer than 10 years after the conduct occurred. Determining whether the government should have known about the conduct and what date that might have occurred is a complex analysis, and one done best with the assistance of experienced counsel.
Work with Experienced California FCA Counsel
Potential FCA whistleblowers are strongly encouraged to work with experienced legal counsel in pursuing their FCA claim in order to maximize their opportunity to obtain a significant financial reward and to properly protect themselves against retaliation.
If you have information that you believe may form the basis of an FCA action, contact our office today to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced Whistleblower attorneys.
