Whistleblower Lawsuits

Chaffin Luhana LLP represents individuals in whistleblower lawsuits against corporations and government organizations. A whistleblower is someone who “blows the whistle” on an individual, business or organization by coming forward and alleging that the said entity has defrauded the state or federal government. Under the False Claims Act, private individuals who are not affiliated with the government may file actions against federal contractors claiming fraud against the government. These actions are known as Qui Tam lawsuits, which comes from an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur”, meaning “he who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself.”

Why Blow The Whistle?

Many acts of fraud committed against the government are left unreported. In most cases, whistleblowers are employees of the organization they seek to blow the whistle on, which may result in retribution or retaliatory acts. Fear of such whistleblower retaliation may be alleviated by knowing your rights. By stepping forward, a whistleblower may help to recover government losses on the government’s behalf while also sharing in the restitution. According to the Department of Justice, whistleblower lawsuits have resulted in over $14 billion in recovery for the United States since 1986. Of those recoveries, whistleblowers have collectively recovered more than $2.2 billion for themselves, simply by speaking up and contacting a whistleblower attorney like those at Chaffin Luhana LLP.

Under the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice is authorized to reward those who report fraud against the federal government in an amount of between 15 and 30 percent of what it recovers based upon the whistleblower’s report. The qui tam provision of the False Claims Act allows for damages of three times the amount the government lost, plus penalties of between $5,500 and $11,000 per false claim (e.g., per false representation made.) These provisions not only provide whistleblowers financial protection from retaliation but also create an enormous monetary incentive to come forward and inform an attorney about fraudulent and illegal acts committed against the government.

Chaffin Luhana—Whistleblower Attorneys

Partner Eric Chaffin is a former federal prosecutor with extensive experience handling whistleblower cases and working with former private employees and consultants who have blown the whistle on government fraud. Mr. Chaffin’s work on cases while a prosecutor was complex and required him to have some of the highest security clearances available in the Justice Department. In addition to the cases that Mr. Chaffin handled as a prosecutor, the firm’s attorneys have worked with whistleblowers in rooting out government fraud in the aircraft, pharmaceutical and agricultural industry. To learn more about your rights as a potential whistleblower, contact our experienced and trial-ready attorneys today at (888) 480-1123, or via email at info@chaffinluhana.com.