$56 Million Recovery

An employee of Amerigroup Corporation, a Virginia based healthcare company that provides services to those who are financially vulnerable, seniors and people with disabilities through publicly-funded programs, discovered that the company was not enrolling low income clients who were unhealthy or pregnant in the Illinois Medicaid program.

Amerigroup was required by law to do so, but allegedly broke the law in order to increase its profits. An employee realized what was happening and exposed the employer’s fraud by filing a whistleblower lawsuit. The final settlement came to $225 million, of which the employee received $56 million, which is 25% of the total amount.

How does a whistleblower lawsuit work?

In a whistleblower lawsuit, an employee brings an action against his or her employer to expose fraud against the government. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of the government – who can chose to participate in the action, not participate, settle or dismiss the action altogether. It is a complicated process that is based in the False Claims Act. Lawsuits are generally filed “in camera”, which means that they are kept private until additional investigation can be done and the government decides whether to get involved.

Confidentiality is key in a whistleblower lawsuit as the first person to file the case will be the one to receive a portion of the settlement or jury award – generally anywhere from 15 to 35 percent. Considering that most lawsuits are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the amount the whistleblower receives can be astronomical.

What about retaliation? An employer cannot retaliate against an employee for bringing a whistleblower lawsuit against it – something that is an obvious concern for exposing his or her company to fraudulent activity. In fact, strict anti-retaliation laws are in place to prevent the whistleblower employee from an adverse employment action. A qualified attorney will be able to explain exactly how the process works.

Seek a qualified attorney

If you’ve uncovered fraudulent activity by your employer against the government, seek the counsel of a qualified whistleblower or Qui Tam attorney to make sure that your rights are protected. To contact an attorney whose practice focuses in this area of the law, please click here. Consultations are free, without obligation and are strictly confidential.