In a recent False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuit, two whistleblowers argued for an increase in their payout, which would award them $9.1 million of the $48 million agreed upon in the settlement.

Whistleblowers are typically expected to receive between 15 and 30 percent of any given settlement amount as their whistleblower reward.

The whistleblower lawsuit claimed Cisco Systems Inc. used defective pricing and paid and received kickbacks in exchange for federal contracts.

The company was accused of providing false or dishonest data to the government regarding the best-available pricing for their services.

The whistleblowers that called attention to this False Claims Act issue, Norman R. and Neal R., argued for the whistleblower awards increase in light of the Eighth Circuit’s statement that the nature of the settlement “warrants a robust relators’ share.”

Last year, a panel decision had affirmed an $8.1 million whistleblower reward. However, the Eighth Circuit tossed the decision, finding that the district court judge didn’t take into account the significant overlap between the claims made by the whistleblowers and the government’s claims in the ensuing lawsuit.

While the government has attempted to avoid sharing most of the proceeds with the whistleblowers involved in the case, the whistleblowers argued that they are entitled to somewhere between 15 and 25 percent of the settlement money because of the overlap of their claims and the claims of the government.

“The facts of this case amply meet the Eighth Circuit’s new test for a statutory share,” the motion stated.

The whistleblowers further argued that their proposed 19 percent share of the settlement money was also justified by a similar decision made by a Missouri federal judge.

The judge in that case awarded a 19 percent share of the settlement money from a False Claims Act suit against Sanborn Map Co. to the whistleblowers. The lawsuit accused Sanborn Map Co. of submitting false invoices to the U.S. Army.

Whistleblowers May Earn Substantial Awards

Whistleblowers are those who see potential fraud or illegal activities in their workplace against the government and report the fraud in a whistleblower lawsuit.

Whistleblowers may be current employees of the company committing fraud, but are often former employees reporting fraud that they witnessed while at their job.

Many potential whistleblowers may be worried that they will get in trouble for reporting fraud, and choose to keep silent. Others wait until they have left their position to accuse their former employers of fraud.

However, whistleblowers are often given substantial whistleblower awards for their reports, which can be between 15 and 30 percent of the settlement money from a lawsuit.

There are also protections in place to help avoid any backlash whistleblowers may experience as a result of coming forward with accusations of fraud.

If you believe you have been witness to some kind of fraud against the government by a current or former employer, you may be eligible to file a whistleblower lawsuit on behalf of the government.

The Cisco Systems Whistleblower Lawsuit Case No. 4:04-cv-00988, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division.