What is a Whistleblower Claim?
To encourage people to report fraud against American taxpayers, the False Claims Act enables ordinary citizens to bring lawsuits against people and companies who they believe have defrauded the federal government by submitting false claims for government funds. Under the qui tam part of the False Claims Act, the whistleblower (person who has exposed the fraud) is awarded a portion of the money recovered in a successful lawsuit. In Michigan, the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act protects employees who report any type of actions which violate state or federal law. Almost any employee in any industry might become aware that their employer or someone else was defrauding the government by submitting phony bills, billing for work that was never performed, or obtaining government goods or services to which they are not entitled. Some of the more common types of whistleblower claims relate to: • Health care fraud, including Medicare fraud and Medicaid fraud • Defense contractor fraud • Constructi
