Qui tam lawsuits must be filed in secret or “under seal,” meaning that the complaint is not disclosed to the public during the government's investigation into the case. It is essential that both before and after you file the suit, you do not disclose the lawsuit or the fraud allegations to others. Allegations that are “publicly disclosed” may prevent you from successfully bringing your suit or recovering an award.
Once you have evidence of fraud, you should act quickly. The False Claims Act has a “first in time” rule that permits only the first person who files a lawsuit to maintain a case. Even if you have significant evidence of fraud, you must be the first to file to be a successful qui tam relator.
A qui tam case may also be dismissed if it is based on public disclosures and the relator is not the “original source.” As a result, it is best to file suit before your allegations of fraud are disclosed publicly to the media or in an administrative or government hearing.
Finally, the False Claims Act has time limits that restrict the amount of time you have in which to file a case. In general, lawsuits must be filed within six years of the date the fraud is committed. The time period may be extended an additional four years for a total of ten years. This is under certain circumstances when a case is filed within three years “after the date when facts material to the right of action are known or reasonably should have been known by the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act in the circumstances.”
Our firm is only investigating claims in which a business entity, such as a company or medical practice, is submitting false claims to a governmental entity in excess of $500,000. We do not handle cases involving individuals receiving government benefits under false pretenses. (For example, we do not handle claims in which a person falsely claims a disability in order to receive government benefits.) For these types of claims, you should contact the appropriate government agency directly, such as Medicaid, and report the fraud. Regarding tax fraud, we are only handling cases in which the under reporting of taxes exceeds $2 Million, and the income of the person committing tax fraud exceeds $200,000 per year.
