Because the government is not able to uncover all instances of fraud that are committed against it, whistleblowers are able to file qui tam actions on the government’s behalf under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act. The qui tam provision of the False Claims Act provides that whistleblowers who have knowledge of fraudulent claims that have been filed with the government may recover a percentage of the amounts that the government is able to collect from the whistleblowers’ qui tam actions. The attorneys at Swartz Swidler may help people to determine whether or not they have winnable qui tam lawsuits that they might file.

Why qui tam lawsuits are allowed

Congress enacted the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act because the government loses billions of dollars every year to fraud. People who have direct knowledge of fraud that has not been publicized may be able to file claims on behalf of the government. Qui tam lawsuits have helped the government to recover substantial amounts of money that have been lost because of Medicare fraud, Medicaid fraud, government contractor fraud and others. In 2016 alone, the U.S. Department of Justice reports that it recovered $4.7 billion in claims that were filed under the False Claims Act. While the recoveries are huge, it is estimated that the government only recovers about one-tenth of the amounts that it loses to fraud.