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Who can be a Whistleblower? The False Claims Act permits most individuals who possess knowledge of fraud against the Government to file a qui tam action on its behalf, including wrongdoers (unless they are convicted of a crime involving the subject conduct). When the Act was first passed in 1863, Congress expressed no compunction about "setting a rogue to catch a rogue." If the suit is based on information that has been publicly disclosed in a manner proscribed under the Act, however, it may be barred. In such cases, the whistleblower can generally only be assured of a share of the government's recovery if the relator was the "original source" of the information, as defined under the Act. Case law surrounding the public disclosure and original source provisions of the False Claims Act are complex and can vary based on the location of the potential case. When public disclosure is a potential issue, the facts of the particular case should be examined with counsel in conjunction with the law of the relevant venue/jurisdiction.
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