If you suspect that fraud may be occurring in your workplace keep reading to know what’s the right process to become a whistleblower. Many of those who blow the whistle are just ordinary workers doing their jobs. According to a 2007 National Business Ethics Survey^®, 56% of all employees witnessed conduct that violated the law, company policy, or company ethical standards.

There are many available whistleblower programs. The most frequently used are whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act, through the SEC Whistleblower Program, the Foreign Practices Act Whistleblower Program, the CFTC Whistleblower Program, and the IRS Whistleblower Program. There is also now the newly enacted Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Program. There are also numerous environmental whistleblower programs. In some instances, claims can be filed under multiple laws. The timeline and procedure for a given case depend on the program that it’s filed under. For example, an individual with knowledge of a medical device company paying kickbacks to doctors could file an FCA claim against the company for violating Medicare regulation. At the same time, he can also file another litigation under the Dodd-Frank Act (SEC program) for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by falsifying corporate records in order to conceal the bribes.

WHISTLEBLOWERS MUST STRICTLY ADHERE TO NUMEROUS COMPLEX RULES TO PROPERLY FILE THEIR WHISTLEBLOWER ACTION AND POTENTIALLY QUALIFY FOR AN AWARD 

Whistleblower laws are complex. The process can be long and procedural rules have to be strictly followed in order for the whistleblower action to proceed and for the whistleblower to potentially earn an award. 

Some of these rules may seem counterintuitive. For example, under the False Claims Act, you as a whistleblower should keep quiet about your claim, other than when reporting it to the government, and to the right governmental agency at that. This is because the False Claims Act has what is called the Public Disclosure Bar, which could prevent you from filing an action under the False Claims Act unless you were the original source of the information. Additionally, when a whistleblower files a False Claims Act lawsuit, it is filed under seal, which means the whistleblower and their attorney(s) cannot publicly speak about the claim until the government asks the court to unseal the filing. Such complaints are often under seal for a year or longer, and in many cases, a False Claims Act case could be under seal for 3 or 4 or more years. The rationale of this rule is to ensure that the government has an opportunity and time to investigate the claim without the defendant being notified of it and potentially destroying the evidence. 

There are many such nuanced, complex rules arising under the various whistleblower programs. This is why it is important to have legal counsel on your side if deciding to pursue a whistleblower legal action. 

THE TIMELINE TO REPORT A FRAUD

The statute of limitations controls how long an individual can wait before filing a claim. All qui tam cases must be filed within a certain number of years since the illegal misconduct occurred. The False Claims Act’sstatute of limitations requires whistleblowers to come forward within 6 years if the fraud has been discovered (meaning the criminal behavior is known, but there is insufficient evidence to open a case) or 10 years if it remained hidden (meaning the fraud is not known before the relator comes forth). The IRS and SEC whistleblower programs have several variable statutes of limitations that can be as little as three years. Also, by reporting the unlawful scheme quickly, relators increase the chances that their case will be successful and that the government may ultimately increase their final reward.

CONTACT AN ATTORNEY

If you want to blow the whistle, you should contact an attorney for  several reasons:

• If you are filing a case under the False Claims Act, it is required that you have a lawyer to represent you.
• For the SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs, hiring an attorney allows you to file a complaint anonymously. This is an important type of whistleblower protection.
• Having an expert lawyer in your corner to organize, file, and facilitate your whistleblower claim dramatically increases the likelihood of your case being successful, which is the basic requirement for claiming a reward.

Speaking to an expert in legal matters to better arm themselves with the critical information that a whistleblower needs to protect themselves and to truly understand their options. Your first communications with our attorneys and investigators will be strictly confidential and all your communications with the law firm will remain privileged and secure no matter whether you choose to pursue a case or not.

FILING A CLAIM UNDER THE FALSE CLAIMS ACT (FCA)

If a person has knowledge of corporate wrongdoing that causes the federal government to lose money or pay for substandard goods or services, their attorneys will most likely file a claim under the FCA. These federal complaints are called qui tam cases and are the most common whistleblower (also known as “relator”) actions. The complaint is filed “under seal” on behalf of the United States Government and provides details that explain how the company is committing fraud. For as long as the seal remains in place, only the court, the federal authorities, and the relator’s legal representatives will know about the case.

This way the defrauding companies are not alerted that they’re under investigation and the citizen who blew the whistle is protected as well. While the case remains under seal, the legal team will provide the authorities with a “disclosure statement” containing all the documents, files, emails, and evidence collected. The U.S. Department of Justice will use them to determine whether it would like to pursue the case; the government has the option to join an FCA action, known as “intervening”, but may choose not to do so. If the government does not intervenes, a whistleblower can continue to pursue the case in the court and, if successful, may get an even larger reward.