Qui Tam Action

A qui tam action allows for a private individual to bring a claim on behalf of the government. In this situation, the individual is called the “relator.” The most common type of claim arises under the Federal False Claims Act. The False Claims Act (FCA) creates a penalty for those that are defrauding the government through false claims. For example, if someone is billing the government for services rendered, but misstates the services in an attempt to collect a larger amount for the bill, that is a violation of the FCA. Along those same lines, if someone bills the government for goods that were never actually sent, that can also be a false claim. The relators in FCA claims are often called whistleblowers.