lawfag article on Sealed Whistleblower Cases

Will Anyone Find Out I Filed A Whistleblower Case?

Yes, but not now.

When you file a Federal or a State False Claims Act whistleblower case, you file that case “under seal.” That means in secret. The implications of filing a sealed case are very serious. Anybody who violates it, first of all, can lose any right to collect any share of a government recovery. You can also be subject to prosecution for interfering with a government investigation.

Do not do this.

It is rare we can make such a definitive statement, but here it is again:

Do not violate the seal

False Claims Act Confidentiality Requirements

You and your lawyer should be aware that filing a case like this requires you to keep it confidential until the seal is lifted by the Court. So, when you file the case, the government has your information and they are obligated to keep your identity confidential as well.

However sometimes people are able to draw their own conclusions. If you are the only one in a position to know certain facts or one of a very few people, and the government has to investigate those facts, sometimes the defendants can figure out what is happening.

In addition, the government’s investigation does not last forever, so at some point the Court will unseal your case and then it does become a public matter. The investigation and the order to unseal your case takes time. If you need time to move on with your life this is something to discuss with your lawyer.

https://whistleblower-quitam-attorney.net/whistleblower/cases/anonymity/

>>4138407

^^^^NOTHING CAN STOP WHAT IS COMING. NOTHING.

Cases remain sealed "until the seal is lifted by the Court."

The procedure, known as “filing under seal,” requires that a complaint “be filed in camera, shall remain under seal for at least 60 days, and shall not be served on the defendant until the court so orders.” 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2).

DOJ's POSITION ON SEALS

In its defense, the DOJ interpreted the sealing provisions narrowly, stressing that the relator was barred from speaking only about the qui tam filing and the government’s investigation; even while under seal, the government explained, “a relator is free to speak about the facts underlying his allegations of fraud to anyone he wishes, including the press, the public or even the defendant.” Id. While the Justice Department acknowledged that the sealing provisions operate, in practice, to bar the relator from disclosing the existence of the qui tam suit, it characterized that restriction not as a “gag order” imposed by the FCA, but rather as a voluntary choice by the relator: In exchange for the right to bring suit in the name of the United States (and to potentially receive a share of the proceeds), the relator chooses to give up the right to speak publicly about the suit until the matter is unsealed.

http://www.lawjournalnewsletters.com/sites/lawjournalnewsletters/2018/01/01/the-false-claims-act-seal-the-dojs-position/?slreturn=20181103204723

>>4139025

Nothing can stop what is coming.

Nothing.

^^^Still holds true right, Q?