The whistleblower's role is critical in protecting federal taxpayer dollars. Typically they can provide information that would be lost or undiscovered otherwise. Those that have discovered fraud against the government and assist in helping their attorney and the government prosecute are entitled to between 15-30% of the monies recovered. In fact some of the most successful cases have been won by whistleblowers who worked with their lawyers and federal investigators while they were still an insider.

Anyone who knows of false claims or fraud involving federal funds can be a whistleblower. In legal terms the action brought is known as a qui tam (pronounced KEY-tahm) action. The term is abbreviated for the Latin phrase "qui tam pro domino rege quam pro si ipso in hac parte sequitur" or "He who sues on behalf of himself and the government." Typically a whistleblower is simply a person who is tired of cooperating or covering up wrongdoing for either their employers or colleagues.

Some Personal Remarks On Whistleblowing

In 1977 I blew the whistle on my own employer, forcing the closure of a federally funded health agency with more than one hundred employees. This was my first professional job after leaving graduate school. I began it full of optimism about improving health care, only to become dismayed - and then appalled - by what I saw going on around me.

I know how big a step this is, and how much courage it calls for. When I did this more than twenty years ago, there were no legal protections for whistleblowers. I felt isolated, with almost no one to turn to for assistance. Times have changed, and the law has extended some protections.

It is still difficult and sometimes frightening to face hostility, isolation, and economic pressure. But there is great moral satisfaction in doing the right thing. And to that satisfaction is added the protection and economic rewards of the False Claims Act. I cannot promise you victory, but I can promise that your concerns will be handled with tact and sensitivity.

I understand. I've been there.

Mark Allen Kleiman