Injury In Idaho

Can I Stay Anonymous as a Whistleblower?

One of the most courageous things a person can do is blow the whistle on wrongdoing, thereby exposing companies who do bad things and holding them accountable.   There are many different laws that enable one to blow the whistle – however, even though the law has very stringent protections for whistleblower that prohibit retaliation – retaliation still occurs.  One of the most common questions potential whistleblowers may ask is if they can stay anonymous from start to finish. Just like any good legal answer the answer to that questions is it depends.

Former FBI Special Agent Jason T. Brown who is now a whistleblower lawyer stated, “When one approaches the FBI with inside information, the Bureau can treat that person as a Confidential Information (“CI”) with the idea that their identity will never be exposed or a Cooperating Witness (“CW”) in which in all likelihood their identity will be exposed at some point.   One should now if they go directly to the government without retaining a qui tam counsel (whistleblower) counsel first, they may not be entitled to any whistleblower award if the case is successful, so they definitely should consult with private counsel first to determine the upsides and downsides.”

With billions at stake and the possibility of whistleblower awards under certain state statutes up to 30% the upside for doing the right thing could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  However, with a private qui tam action under the False Claims Act (FCA), even though some crafty attorneys have tried a variety of ways to keep their relator secretive that route is perilous for many reasons, especially the first to file rule.  Under the first to file rule, only the first person to commence a False Claims Act is entitled to a recovery under the law. Some Courts may so narrowly interpret that regulation that if you try to file the matter as a Jane Doe and then later try to sub in as your true name then perhaps you were not the first to file and thereby not entitled to an award.

The False Claims Act is one of the rare statutes that prohibit filing the matter pro se, so you need a False Claims Act attorney to proceed. Some lawyers will try to file it under a corporate structure but that is laden with peril as well, and if the case proceeds then ultimately the identity of the corporate beneficiaries is certainly discoverable thereby eviscerating anonymity.

An interesting side note is that SEC whistleblowers with the use of SEC whistleblower counsel can potentially stay anonymous from start to finish.  Similarly, CFTC whistleblowers, which are commodities cases can also stay anonymous with the use of CFTC whistleblower counsel.

With all the regulations, options, stratospheric upside, and potential perils, its best to consult with an experienced whistleblower law firm to understand your ability to maintain anonymity throughout your case.

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