Whistle Blower and False Claims Law Experts

When deciding if a potential False Claims Act case is worth pursuing, a potential whistleblower should take into consideration that the whistleblower should have factual knowledge of the fraud and not merely a suspicion. In most cases it is also necessary to provide additional evidence beyond the whistleblower’s knowledge of the fraud. This evidence must be specific, identifying material details about the fraud. Assertions of false claims usually require some form of documentation.

The key issue of a false claims case is that the government was cheated in one form or another. This act of cheating is the basis for the “false claim.” False claims occur in multiple ways: overcharging for a product or service, failing to perform a service, failing to deliver the promised amount of goods or services, not paying the full amount of money one owes to the government, and charging for one thing but delivering another, to list just a few examples.

A company or individual that has made a false claim may be liable for triple the amount of the actual damages, a civil fine of up to $11,000 per false claim, and the attorney’s fees of the whistle-blower (also called the “relator”). Individuals or companies that cause someone else to submit a false claim can also be found liable under the False Claims Act.

The burden of proof in a False Claims Act case is “preponderance of the evidence,” that is, the claim is more likely to be true than false. This is the same standard of proof that is normally applicable in most civil cases and is not as difficult to meet as the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases.

Mueller Hillin specializes in whistleblower and false claims cases in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston and Austin.