Why Would You Need A Qui Tam Lawyer?

If you are a whistleblower, or thinking about whistle blowing, a qui tam lawyer should be top of your list for advice.

Defrauding the government seems to have become an almost everyday occurrence, and for many large organisations the norm.

There are many types of fraud pertaining to a variety of businesses, from a straightforward bribe or back hander to an official ensuring you are top of the list for a contract, to charging for goods never received or supplied. Falsifying documents is another one, and so the list goes on.

Many more Americans are taking on the responsibility of whistle blowing on their employers, knowing that they are protected under the qui tam law.

What is Qui Tam?

Quite simply it is a law that allows each and every American citizen who has information about possible fraud or wrongdoings to file a claim on behalf of the government, without fear of retribution or retaliation. For doing this there is the added bonus of a financial reward at the end if the case is proven, and the funds recovered are in excess of $1 million.

Be prepared for a long fight, as many qui tam cases are quite complex in nature. Take the case of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and their ex employee Cheryl Eckard (her employment was terminated in 2003).

In 2002 Cheryl Eckard was sent to the GSK manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico, to try and sort out the problems that had raised their ugly head in a warning letter from the FDA. The plant in Puerto Rico is GSK's largest and churns out over $5.5billion of pharmaceuticals per annum. Not long after arriving she saw that there were numerous problems. Contaminated water and airflow systems were a big issue, there was remarkably little control over the mixing of medication dosages and there wasn't enough space for correct storage. Perhaps most worryingly, was the lack of sterile machinery and devices for storing cancer drugs. Miss Eckard (who was also a team leader looking after one hundred people) raised her concerns regarding safety on numerous occasions, but her concerns were continually ignored and no changes were implemented.

In 2004, Cheryl Eckard informed the FDA of her concerns and filed a qui tam lawsuit, which has taken nearly eight years to come to fruition. GlaxoSmithKline have now pleaded guilty to criminal charges for the manufacture and distribution of adulterated drugs and have been fined $750million, of which Miss Eckard will receive $96 million.

The whistleblower payout was enormous, thanks in part to the qui tam lawyers whose time, experience and perseverance helped get the right verdict.

Why do pharmaceutical companies continue to break the law? In this instance, it could have been avoided as Cheryl Eckard did warn the company of the dangers numerous times, before finally taking the course of action she did.

Does the Qui Tam law only apply to the pharmaceutical industry?

No, this law relates to all industries. Although the focus is often on the ‘big boys’ in the pharmaceutical world, defence contractors are also culpable and in actual fact, Medicare and Medicaid fraud are nearly always near the top of the list.

Recently, two energy companies were discovered cheating the government of royalties and were fined under the qui tam law, as was the Oracle Corporation, a large software company who were found guilty of overbilling the government for software provided.

An individual can report insider trading, securities and tax fraud. Remember, it doesn’t matter what industry you are in, fraud is illegal and wrong.

The False Claims Act, Dodd Frank Act and Qui Tam can only be considered a good thing to have happened. By encouraging everyone to whistle blow on fraudulent activity, everyone wins, not only the government, but the people of America too.