Law Office of Lannis Temple
 
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Qui Tam/Whistleblower Litigation

DO I HAVE A WHISTLEBLOWER/QUI TAM CLAIM?

Under the Federal False Claims Act (also called Qui Tam Act) you may have a claim if the Federal Government has:

  (1) paid fraudulent or false claims,
  (2) not been paid money it should have been paid, or
  (3) paid claims where false certifications were made.

Examples:

  (1) a doctor, hospital or other healthcare provider charges Medicare or Medicaid for services it did not provide or, charges more for services than is proper,
  (2) a government contractor provides false information on the goods it is selling to the government, or
  (3) a company which is using government land intentionally underpays the oil and gas, timber, or mineral royalties it owes.
  (4) A Medicare HMO intentionally only markets to healthy senior citizens, when it is under a duty to market to all senior citizens.
  (5) A company represents itself as having minority ownership, when it does not, in order to become a defense contractor, NASA contractor or Superfund contractor.

Depending on the circumstances, a Plaintiff (the person who can prove such fraud) in a Qui Tam case may recover between 15% and 30% of the amount recovered by the government.

If you were an employee of the Texas State Government or a local government in Texas (including school districts), you may have a Whistleblower claim under Texas law if:

  (1) you were suspended or terminated from your job because you reported, in good faith, a violation of the law to a law enforcement agency, and
  (2) it has been less than 90 days since you were suspended or terminated.