How a qui tam case moves
Under the False Claims Act, a private person called a relator can file a case on behalf of the United States. The complaint is filed under seal and shared with the government rather than with the company, and the government investigates before deciding whether to take the case over. That review often takes far longer than people expect, and the seal means you cannot discuss the filing publicly while it is in place. If the government declines, a relator can sometimes continue on their own, which is a serious decision. New York and many other states have their own versions for state and local funds, and some cover areas the federal law does not.
What makes a case strong at the start
The government is most interested in specific, firsthand information: how the false claims were made, who was involved, and which records show it. Whether the information has already been made public, and whether someone else filed first, can affect whether a case can go forward at all, so timing is a real concern. Keep what you lawfully have, and talk to counsel before taking documents from an employer, since some materials are restricted and taking the wrong ones can create problems. Patient records and privileged legal files raise special concerns. A relator usually serves a written disclosure of the evidence on the government along with the complaint.
Questions we work through with you
Courts generally expect a relator to be represented by counsel, and the early work is mostly about building a disclosure the government will take seriously. We discuss what you saw, how you know it, and whether the conduct fits the federal law, a state law, or both. We also talk about your job, because the False Claims Act has protections against retaliation, and about the strain a long sealed case can put on daily life. If you are a company facing a qui tam complaint, the case often looks quite different, and we can discuss that side as well. Either way, no one can tell you at the outset whether the government will intervene.
