Qui Tam/False Claims Act

Washington, DC, Qui Tam Attorneys

Fraud on the part of government contractors is costly for us all, and every United States taxpayer has an interest in seeing that such fraud is exposed and prosecuted. Washington, DC, attorneys Jay Holland and Timothy Maloney, shareholders in our suburban Maryland, firm, Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, have extensive experience in representing relators. Relators, or "whistleblowers", are honest people who see fraud in their workplaces and either report it to their employer, report it through a sealed report in a qui tam lawsuit, or those who see an irregularity but do not know how to proceed. Mr. Holland and Mr. Maloney provide the whistleblower with guidance and support as they pursue their claims.

The lawyers, leading a team of experienced legal professionals, represent clients nationwide in qui tam litigation, and handle cases at the federal, state, and local level. If you would like to speak with Mr. Holland or Mr. Maloney about a possible qui tam case please contact our Greenbelt office to arrange a complimentary consultation.

The federal False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions provides compensation for a qui tam whistleblower, who may collect up to 30% of the amount recovered from the fraudulent contractor. The False Claims Act also protects a whistleblower against retaliation on the part of his or her employer. In the last twenty years, federal qui tam cases have in the last twenty years been an exceptionally effective way of uncovering a wide range of types of financial fraud, bid rigging, and billing fraud in a variety of government programs. A few examples, including cases the lawyers have handled recently, include the following:

• Fraud on the part of large defense contractors
• Fraud on the part of health care providers, including Medicare fraud, Medicaid fraud, and pharmaceutical fraud, including billing for drugs and services not provided and over-billing for those services and drugs
• Providing inferior parts, including parts installed in government jets, while billing the government for the higher quality product specified in the contract
• Paying employees less than the wage specified in a government contract but billing the government at the contract rate
• Billing the government for the same consultant at several worksites, resulting in over billing
• Oil and gas underpayments
• Billing for environmental cleanup and testing when work was not done or was not done according to contract specifications
• Misrepresentations made to enter into minority contractor set-aside programs, such as the SBA 8(a) program

If you know of government fraud and would like to speak with a Washington, DC, whistle blower attorney, please contact our Greenbelt, Maryland, office to arrange a free consultation. We will be happy to counsel you on how to proceed in order to protect yourself while pursuing an action under the federal False Claims Act.

For more information visit our Qui Tam Practice Center.

Mr. Holland is a member of Taxpayers against Fraud, an organization dedicated to holding contractors and others accountable for government fraud. For more information on whistleblowers, False Claims Act, and Qui Tam, visit www.taf.org.