Previously, I have mentioned that government sources seem to be less shy about recognizing the vital contribution of qui tam relators to the fight against fraud. I am referring specifically to the publicity efforts of law enforcement authorities. The recent announcement of a $57.75 million qui tam settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia continues this trend.
Publicity, of course, is very important to law enforcement, because it puts the public on notice of what transpired in a case. As Professor Charles Nesson described it in a seminal law review article, the judicial process is designed to generate statements about right and wrong, and to draw a line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Certainly, most DOJ press releases announcing a qui tam settlement contained an acknowledgement by government authorities of the role of the whistleblower, or relator. But the vast majority of such press releases didn’t contain language like this:
“Collaboration between the federal government and citizens with knowledge of fraud is important to the successful enforcement of the False Claims Act,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “Whistleblowers like Dr. Oberg are critical to our efforts to recover taxpayer money lost to waste, fraud, and abuse.”
And this, from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia:
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to assisting ordinary citizens who blow the whistle on wrongdoing by companies that take taxpayer dollars,” said Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Through the efforts of one citizen and the government, these lenders will be paying millions back to the government.”
Congratulations to Jason Zuckerman, who represented Dr. Oberg in this non-intervened case.