Whistleblowers
'Whistleblower' can mean any person who reveals misconduct by his or her employer or another business or entity. The misconduct may be in the form of breaking the law, committing fraud, or corruption. That type of fraud can be a violation of the False Claims Act, or similar state and local laws. And a whistleblower who exposes fraud on the government can bring a qui tam lawsuit on behalf of the government, and can receive a share of the recovery as his or her reward.
In order for a whistleblower (also known as a "relator" in the context of the FCA) to bring a qui tam action that is based upon publicly disclosed information, that person must legally qualify as an "original source." See Rockwell International Corp. v. United States.
Read more about this topic: Qui Tam