Whistleblowers who appropriately report corporate fraud involving federal or State of Tennessee taxes are entitled to a significant portion of the government's recovered losses and fines won through the qui tam lawsuits under the provisions of the federal False Claims Act and/or Tennessee's Medicaid False Claims Act (TMFCA).

Whistleblowers under the False Claims Act help recover literally billions of tax dollars (last fiscal year, the Department of Justice recovered over $2 billion thanks toqui tam lawsuits). Tennessee also targets the misuse of Medicaid and TennCare tax dollars through its Tennessee's Medicaid False Claims Act (TMFCA). Both these federal and state laws give financial incentives (nearly $200 million paid to qui tam whistleblowers last year) to qui tam whistleblowers for reporting fraud by requiring a portion of the recoveries (between 15% and 30% in False Claims and 25% and 33% in Tennessee Medicaid False Claims cases) go to whistleblowers.

This percentage of False Claims recovery comes from qui tam statutes. Qui tam (pronounced "kwee tam") is short for the Latin "qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hoc parte sequitur," which roughly mean that a person sues for the king as well as him or herself. President Lincoln popularized qui tam provisions during the Civil War when defrauding the government was rampant. When the False Claims Act was amended in 1986, Congress increased the amount of qui tam award as an incentive to whistleblowers. Qui tam whistleblower working with a qualified lawyer can sue for three times the government's damages plus civil penalties ($5,500 to $11,000 per claim).

Common Qui Tam Whistleblower Cases

While government fraud comes in a number of forms, from double and ghost-billing under government contracts to farm subsidy and illegal use of federal educational dollars, and has involved a number of companies including Iasis Healthcare, Lockheed Martin, University of Phoenix, OfficeMax, Hewlett-Packard, and others--by far the greatest culprit has been the health care industry.

Examples of health care fraud include billing Medicare, Medicaid, or TennCare dollars for supplies never ordered or used (and often substandard) equipment substituted, unbundling (separating a package into its parts or individual procedures that are more expensive), phantom billing for patients or employees that do not exist, waiving patient co-pay, and other means of stealing from the government. Tennessee health care fraud comes from all areas of medicine and care, including Tennessee hospitals, nursing homes, mental hospitals, surgeons, chiropractors, and laboratories.

Tennesseans of all walks of life suffer more than just higher taxes from health care fraud. Qui tam cases have revealed doctors diluting cancer-fighting chemotherapy medications and the neglect and mistreatment of veterans in Tennessee veterans' homes from companies cutting costs but still charging the same prices.

Qui Tam Whistleblower Considerations

To qualify for qui tam moneys in a False Claims or a Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act lawsuit, the whistleblower filing the claim (called a relator) with a qualified attorney must meet certain conditions:

• Qui tam whistleblower must be an employee or professionally involved with the guilty party.
• Qui tam whistleblower must file before another whistleblower becomes a relator.
• Qui tam whistleblower must not have initiated the false billing or other misuse of U.S. or Tennessee tax dollars for the purposes of filing a qui tam lawsuit.

There are, of course, additional conditions and matters to consider, which are best addressed by speaking personally with an experienced qui tam attorney.

Taking Action with a Qui Tam Attorney

In the initial stages of a False Claims whistleblower case, the relator's identity will remain confidential to prevent retaliation. If or when a relator's identity is revealed, federal and Tennessee employment law prohibits retaliation (that is, your Tennessee employer to allow a qui tam lawsuit to affect your job) against a False Claims whistleblower. If retaliation occurs during the course or after a federal or Tennessee False Claims lawsuit, the whistleblower can be awarded damages, including reinstatement, twice the pay withheld or the employee would have earned, and attorney fees.

These protections, though, are not assured if appropriate action is not taken with a qualified Tennessee qui tam attorney. HHP's Nashville, TN attorneys are dedicated to the best interests of our clients, and that includes their professional safety and their financial awards.

Contact Higgins, Himmelberg & Piliponis for an experienced qui tam attorney.