At times, people face situations in the workplace that simply do not feel right to them. Supervisors may ask them to keep quiet about something outside of what is covered in a normal NDA, such as overbilling government-funded programs or submitting false information to receive government funding and benefits. They may be asked to do something that goes against their personal ethics for the “greater good” of the company. These can be signs of fraud or illicit activity. If you see something odd, you do not have to stay quiet about it.
The U.S. government relies upon private citizens to help root out fraud. Under the False Claims Act, individuals who become whistleblowers may be eligible to recover 15 to 30 percent of the money recovered in a successful lawsuit. Talking to a whistleblower lawyer in Chicago can help you understand if you may have a case. Schedule a confidential consultation today with Tycko & Zavareei LLP to learn more.
What is a Whistleblower?
A whistleblower is more often than not an employee who alleges wrongdoing by their employer of the sort that violates public law. Whistleblowers often relay information to the government or law enforcement.
If you are aware that your employer is violating the law, committing fraud, or behaving unethically and you decide to report their actions, you may be considered a whistleblower. People who report unethical actions to an internal source such as Human Resources are not considered whistleblowers.
Types of Fraud that May Qualify for a Chicago Whistleblower Lawsuit
Medicaid/Medicare Fraud
Medicare and Medicaid are government programs intended to provide healthcare for seniors and people who fall below a certain income threshold. Fraud occurs when a medical professional, be it a doctor, hospital, practice, nursing home, addiction treatment center, or facility, files illicit claims to get more money from the government than they are entitled to. This deception may mean filing claims for procedures that were never performed or submitting more than one claim for a service.
Government Contract Fraud
The federal government will often contract with private companies to provide resources or services. For example, they contract with aerospace and aviation companies to produce planes for the Air Force. Government contract fraud occurs when one of these private companies attempts to obtain a government contract by falsifying information (underestimating the cost of a project, for example), failing to deliver products or services that meet contract requirements, misusing government funds, and more. Bribery and kickbacks to obtain government contracts are other examples of fraud.
Customs and Tariffs Fraud
Items entering the United States must go through customs before they can reach their destination, and those items must be properly labeled so that the proper taxes and tariffs can be applied. Tariffs will depend on where the items originate. Customs fraud occurs when a company attempts to reduce or avoid those taxes and tariffs in order to save themselves money and/or offer their goods at a lower price point. This is often done by mislabeling the items being shipped, shipping them through different countries to disguise where they originally came from, or labeling the goods at a lower value than they actually are to reduce taxes.
Banking and Securities Fraud
Banking fraud covers a wide variety of crimes. Recently, many whistleblower lawsuits have involved fraud targeting government-funded mortgages. Financial institutions that underwrite loans that fail to meet the Federal Housing Administration or Department of Veteran Affairs’ guidelines may be committing fraud.
Securities fraud, on the other hand, has to do with manipulating the market. This can mean interfering with stocks or investments or filing false financial statements.
Tax Fraud
Tax fraud refers to the deliberate misrepresentation of one’s information on their tax documents or failure to file them entirely in an attempt to pay a smaller amount in taxes or avoid payment altogether. Businesses may engage in tax fraud by not filing payroll documents, under-reporting their profits, or paying employees “under the table.”
Protections and Rewards in Place for Chicago Whistleblowers
Fear of retaliation is one of the top reasons that people do not report their employers. Employees with information about fraud may be threatened with demotion, moved to another department, or in some cases, even terminated.
These types of retaliatory actions are illegal, and whistleblowers have federal laws in place that can hold employers accountable for retaliating against what is called a protected disclosure.
These laws were set out by the Department of Labor and are enforced by five different agencies. They are written to protect whistleblowers from retaliation, but the whistleblower must often prove that the actions taken against them were directly related to their protected disclosure.
There are also rewards for whistleblowers. Depending on what kind of action is taken against the person or business engaging in fraud, the whistleblower may be entitled to 15-30% of the money the government collects from the case under the False Claims Act.
When and Why Should You Contact a Chicago Whistleblower Lawyer?
Since blowing the whistle on an employer involves reporting them for a violation of the law and not just company or department policy, it is advisable to contact a Chicago whistleblower lawyer to represent you. Attorneys for whistleblowing cases know the laws well and can keep you up to date and informed throughout the case.
When you decide to act as a whistleblower, contacting a lawyer should be your first step. They will meet with you to discuss what happened and evaluate the evidence first in order to determine whether the case is strong enough to proceed.
If your case is strong enough, your lawyer will help you file a qui tam lawsuit. If at any point you are retaliated against, a whistleblower lawyer can also help you file a lawsuit against your employer.
Doing the right thing can be scary, but Tycko and Zavareei LLP is here to help. If you believe that your employer is committing fraud, contact us today.
