Whistleblower lawyer Jonathan Tycko provides an overview of the federal False Claims Act. Learn what types of fraud it covers, and how the law protects and rewards whistleblowers.
If you have information about fraud against the government or government-funded programs, such as healthcare fraud or government contracts fraud, contact one of our whistleblower lawyers. Whistleblowers may be eligible for a significant monetary reward.
Watch the video or read the transcript below.
Video Transcript
Speaker: Tycko & Zavareei LLP Partner Jonathan Tycko
The False Claims Act is a law that makes it unlawful to commit fraud on the government or on government programs funded by taxpayer dollars. As we’ll describe in more detail in other videos, the False Claims Act covers a wide range of frauds.
What Types of Fraud Does the False Claims Act Cover?
Because the government funds healthcare through Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs, fraud in the healthcare industry often violates the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act also covers fraud by government contractors, either in the bidding process for new contracts or in seeking payment under existing contracts. The False Claims Act also covers fraud by importers who evade the payment of customs duties and tariffs. This could be lying about the nature of the products that they’re importing or the country of origin of those products.
And these are just some examples. Any time a company commits fraud on the government, it may have violated the False Claims Act.
How Does the False Claims Act Protect and Reward Whistleblowers?
A unique aspect of the False Claims Act is the qui tam provision. This means that a whistleblower with information about the fraud can bring a claim on behalf of the government and earn a monetary reward. These rewards can be very substantial, often in the millions of dollars. The law also protects whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers. In other videos in this series, we’ll give more detail both about the rewards that whistleblowers can earn and the protections against retaliation provided by the False Claims Act.
Do You Have Information About Fraud? Contact a Whistleblower Lawyer
If you have information about fraud on the government and would like to talk to an attorney about your rights, contact us here at Tycko & Zavareei LLP for a free and confidential evaluation.