Speak Up: You Could be Stopping a Grave Injustice

The False Claims Act, which is also commonly referred to as Qui Tam or the Lincoln Law is one of the oldest laws in the United States. The first whistleblower law was enacted into legislation in 1778, with an updated more powerful False Claims Act passing in 1863 during the American Civil War as a result of defense contractor price gouging. With well over $30 billion dollars in taxpayer money recovered, the yearly recoveries under this Act continue to grow. In the year 2016 alone the Justice Department recovered over $4.7 billion dollars under The False Claims Act.

How does it work? When a whistleblower has actual knowledge of fraud being perpetrated involving federal or in some instances state money they file a sealed complaint, which is then thoroughly investigated by the Department of Justice. The DOJ will then determine whether or not the United States wants to intervene. If not, the relator can still bring the claim and prosecute the action on behalf of the United States, but the government would not be a party. Now besides from being able to save Uncle Sam and all of us taxpayers bundles of money for the fraud, the whistleblower is also entitled to a reward ranging from 15%-30% of the government’s recovery. These rewards are often very substantial, considering that recoveries in these cases are often in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

Mortgage and housing-related fraud is one of the most widespread areas of fraud in the country. In fact, the Department of Justice has recovered more than $7 billion dollars in housing and mortgage claims in the past seven years. Since the government ensures the majority of mortgages under the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) often unscrupulous lenders originate and endorse residential mortgages without meeting the proper requirements for being insured. In 2016 Wells Fargo (how astonishing) was liable for $1.2 billion dollars for such practices, as well as Freedom Mortgage Corp. for $113 million. Now even at the low end of 15% that would equate to a reward for the whistleblower to the tune of $17 million and $180 million dollars respectively.

If you or a family member or friend work at a financial institution or mortgage company and see something that isn’t kosher call Loan Lawyers for a free confidential consultation. Navigating the waters on how to file these claims properly isn’t something to be attempted alone. We are here to help you with the often difficult process of making sure your claim is properly filed.

For more information about Qui Tam visit us online here.

Loan Lawyers has helped over 5,000 South Florida homeowners and consumers with their debt problems, we have saved over 1,500 homes from foreclosure, eliminated $100,000,000 in mortgage principal and consumer debt, and have collected millions of dollars on behalf of our clients due to bank, loan servicer, and debt collector violations, negligence and fraud. Contact us for a free consultation to see how we may be able to help you.