Do You Suspect Your Employer or Other California Company of Fraud, Waste, or Abuse of Government Dollars?
Our experienced Orange County, CA whistleblower lawyers help you report fraud and maximize your cash award.
Our U.S. government grants billions of dollars each year to healthcare programs, housing programs, defense contractors that provide valuable goods and services to our communities.
Unfortunately, many hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, financial professionals, and defense contractors attempt to take advantage of these government funds for their own profit.
Likewise, securities laws require that California companies handle funds responsibly and protect valuable customer information. Yet, securities fraud and cybersecurity breaches cost investors and consumers billions of dollars annually.
Fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars and the mishandling of customer funds and information endanger the economic stability and personal safety of our nation’s citizens. The government offers large cash awards and legal protections to those willing to report corporate misconduct – following the legally correct process.
With one member of our team having achieved the Unites States’ largest whistleblower settlement ($16.65 billion), our renowned team of experienced qui tam lawyers have earned relators (the person who blows the whistle) over $100 million dollars in whistleblower awards.
With over five decades of combined legal experience, our Newport Beach whistleblower lawyers help Southern California healthcare professionals, financial service employees, managers and executives at defense contractors, and others who suspect fraud or securities violations report their knowledge, protect their rights, and maximize their qui tam cash awards.
Our Orange County whistleblower law group helps clients:
- Report fraud and securities violations under various appropriate whistleblower programs, including FCA, SEC, FCPA, CFTC, FIRREA programs
- Protect whistleblower information and identity
- Litigate whistleblower’s cases in court when necessary
- Recover damages for a California employer’s retaliation
- Maximize whistleblower cash awards
California’s Hochfelsen & Kani, LLP qui tam law team is ready to help you stop fraud and maximize your cash award.
Contact us for a free, confidential case consultation.
California Qui Tam Whistleblowers Earn Large Cash Awards
Under the federal False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 – 3733), the government pays cash incentives (rewards) to individuals (known as qui tam relators or whistleblowers) who report knowledge of fraud.
If your original source information leads to successful recovery of stolen, wasted, or defrauded government funds through settlement or verdict, you will be eligible to collect between 15% and 30% of the total recovery.
With skilled legal strategy and decades of experience, our whistleblower lawyers often achieve cash awards ranging in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
Common False Claims Act violations we help California whistleblowers report include:
- Best-price violations
- Buy American violations
- Cross-charging fixed price to cost-plus contracts
- Disguising / hiding contract breaches
- Failing to adhere to safety standards
- Failing to disclose product deficiencies
- Falsifying records
- FDA cGMP violations
- Illegal kickbacks
- Inadequate staffing, equipment, resources
- Misrepresentation in contract bidding
- Off label marketing
- Overbilling / falsified invoices for labor, goods, services
- Pay for delay schemes
- Procurement fraud
- Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) violations
- Unbundling / upcoding
- Unlicensed / underqualified staff
- Using defective / refurbished materials and parts
Remember, you don’t need evidence of intent to defraud the government. Any action (or inaction) that may be a violation of the False Claims Act could qualify you for a cash award.
If you suspect fraud is occurring in your California workplace or at another company, our Hochfelsen & Kani, LLP Southern California business litigation lawyers are happy to answer your questions in a free, confidential consultation.
California SEC Whistleblowers Earn Large Cash Awards
Like the False Claims Act, the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provide large cash awards and protections against employer retaliation for those who report original knowledge of securities and commodities violations.
Known as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Whistleblower Program, investors, brokers, bankers, dealers, accountants, traders, shareholders, stockholders, and public company insiders have been eligible to collect SEC whistleblower awards since 2010.
To qualify for an SEC whistleblower award, an individual must have original source knowledge of violations that bring sanctions or penalties of at least $1 million. SEC whistleblower awards equal between 10% and 30% of the amount collected in settlement or verdict.
Our Orange County SEC whistleblower lawyer team helps California whistleblowers report all kinds of violations, including:
- Insider Trading
- Accounting fraud
- Front Running
- Bribery
- Mishandling investor funds
- Company finance misrepresentation
- Market manipulation
- Mutual fund fraud
- Stockholder embezzlement
- Ponzi schemes
- Cybersecurity violations
If you suspect securities violations are occurring in your workplace or other California company, our Hochfelsen & Kani, LLP California business litigation lawyers can help protect your privacy and maximize your cash award.
Legal Protections for California Whistleblowers
Both False Claims Act and SEC whistleblower programs contain anti-retaliation provisions prohibiting employers from threatening, harassing, firing, demoting, denying promotion or otherwise discriminating against employees because they choose to report a violation.
Whistleblowers who experience workplace retaliation have the right to sue for damages, including:
- Double payment of lost wages with interest
- Other special damages
- Job reinstatement
- Attorneys’ fees and costs
At the law firm of Hochfelsen & Kani LLP, our Orange County whistleblower attorneys are prepared to aggressively protect your rights as a relator. Contact us today for a fully confidential, free case evaluation.
How to File a California Whistleblower Claim
The moment you suspect misconduct, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer. Due to “first to file” bars, only the first person to report the misconduct is eligible to collect a cash whistleblower award. In addition, numerous federal and state statutes of limitations apply.
Only through following appropriate legal procedure can you safeguard your cash award eligibility and legal protections. Your initial consultation with us establishes your role as whistleblower and your eligibility for a cash award.
Reporting fraud is a heroic act that recovers stolen taxpayer dollars and increases public safety for everyone. Our experienced Southern California whistleblower lawyers will help you successfully navigate your whistleblower claims, both federal and state, from start to finish.
If you suspect fraud is occurring in your California workplace or other business, protect your rights with proactive, knowledgeable representation. Located in Newport Beach, California, we represent clients in Los Angeles, Orange County, Beverly Hills, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Jose, Silicon Valley, and in every city across the state of California.
To find out how we can help you report fraud and collect your cash award, please contact our Orange County whistle blower litigation attorneys today: