Who can be a whistleblower under the False Claims Act?

The False Claims Act (FCA) permits almost any person or entity to be a whistleblower if they have nonpublic information about fraud on the government. There is no citizenship requirement. Nor must a whistleblower be an employee of – or have any relationship to – the company allegedly engaged in fraud.

The government has paid awards to many different types of individuals and institutions, including current and former employees, competitors, third-party contractors, NGOs, industry analysts, and members of the public.

The FCA does, however, exclude a few categories of people from receiving whistleblower awards. Unlike some other whistleblower statutes, the FCA does not permit awards to anyone convicted of a crime for the fraud reported. Current and former members of the military also face special restrictions on their ability to bring suits under the FCA. And additional hurdles exist to claims against members of Congress and other senior government officials.

Understanding who can act as a whistleblower depends on the individual facts of each case. To learn more about the False Claims Act and other whistleblower programs, go to www.mololamken.com and follow us on LinkedIn.  “Brilliant lawyers with courtroom savvy” — Benchmark Litigation.  Copyright MoloLamken LLP 2023.