Hurricane Sandy FEMA Fraud Whistleblowers and Hurricane Sandy HUD Fraud Whistleblowers Are Needed To Expose Government Contractor Fraud by Hurricane Sandy FEMA Fraud Lawyer and Hurricane Sandy HUD Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer

Hurricane Sandy caused over $62 Billion in damage throughout the east coast of the United States.  In response, federal government programs including FEMA and HUD have provided billions of dollar in aid to help people, businesses and communities that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  Unfortunately, several government contractors have taken advantage of these government programs and have fraudulently taken federal funds that were intended to be used to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. 

If you have evidence that a corrupt government contractor has defrauded or is defrauding the United States Government out of significant amounts of money through HUD fraud, FEMA fraud, or other government fraud,  please feel free to contact Hurricane Sandy HUD Fraud, FEMA Fraud, FHA Fraud, and Disaster Relief Fraud Whistleblower Lawyer, Jason Coomer, for a free online and confidential review of your potential whistleblower reward lawsuit or feel free to also use our online submission form.

Large Financial Rewards Are Being Offered to Whistleblowers That Properly Expose HUD Fraud, FEMA Fraud, and Other Government Relief Fraud

Unfortunately, HUD fraud, FEMA Fraud, and Disaster Relief Fraud often follow disasters such as hurricanes.  It is estimated that between 10% to 20% of disaster relief funds are stolen through fraud. In fact, many businesses and people converge on a disaster stricken area for the sole purpose of stealing government funds and preying on communities in need.  These corrupt government contractors can often be held accountable for taking advantage of government programs and made to repay money taken from the government by fraud.  Further, whistleblowers that properly expose these fraudulent actions can receive large financial rewards for exposing fraud. 

If you have evidence that a corrupt government contractor is defrauding the United States Government significant amounts of money through HUD fraud, FEMA fraud, or other government fraud, feel free to contact please feel free to contact HUD Fraud, FEMA Fraud, FHA Fraud, and Disaster Relief Fraud Lawyer, Jason Coomer, for a free online and confidential review of your potential whistleblower reward lawsuit or feel free to also use our online submission form.

HUD ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL $5.1 BILLION IN RECOVERY FUNDS FOR COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY HURRICANE SANDY Second round of funding for five states, New York City to address remaining needs

"WASHINGTON – One year after Hurricane Sandy devastated coastal communities in the Northeast, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today allocated a combined $5.1 billion through a second round of recovery funds to five states and New York City. Provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, these recovery funds will assist impacted communities to meet remaining housing, economic development and infrastructure needs.

Last February, one week after President Obama signed into law the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, HUD quickly allocated $5.4 billion to assist communities located in the most impacted areas. The second round of funding announced today is intended to support remaining unmet recovery needs that continue to confront these communities one year after the storm."

False Certification of Entitlements, Goods, and Services can Lead to False Claims Act Qui Tam Whistleblower Lawsuits

HUD False Certification, FEMA False Certification, and other Government Contractor False Certifications are common ways that government contractors defraud the United States Government and taxpayers out of large amounts of money.  Many whistle blowers have been successful in blowing the whistle on fraudulent government contractors to reveal fraud schemes that steal money from the United States.  Under False Claims Act litigation billions of dollars are regained from these fraudulent government contractors.  Some common ways government contractors cheat the government are False Certification of Product Quality, Product Substitution, Cross Charging, False Certification of Services Provided, Charging for Services or Goods not provided, and Violations of the Truth-in-Negotiations Act ("TINA"), and Improper Cost Allocation.

False Certification of Product Quality commonly occurs after a product has been approved for mass production.  The original prototypes of a product are typically created with high quality materials and parts including strong metals, seals, plastics, and components.  However, after the original prototypes have been tested and approved, some defense contractors use inferior parts and materials to lower costs that make weapons, ships, vehicles, computers, electronics, and other military goods less reliable, weaker, and more prone to not work when needed.  The government contractor that provides a false certification of a product's quality has committed a false certification that may subject the government contractor to a False Certification of Product Quality False Claims Act Law Suit.

Similar to False Certification of Product Quality Qui Tam Claims are Product Substitution False Claims.  These claims occur when a Government Contractor that is under a government contract that specifies that the government contractor build products using a certain grade, quality of parts, or materials & parts from American companies, fails to comply with the contract. These Government Contractors often decides it is more profitable to use or substitute inferior parts or parts not made by American companies.  Government Contractors that use inferior parts or parts not made by American Companies as required by their government contract may be subject to a Product Substitution False Claim Act Law Suit.

Cross-Charging occurs when a Government Contractor has a fixed-price contract, where the company receives a fixed price for a certain number of weapons no matter how much it costs to produce them and another that is a "cost-plus" contract, where the government pays the company for the cost of making the weapons, plus a percentage of its costs as a profit.  In this circumstance the Government Contractor has an economic incentive to charge the time it spends working on the fixed-price contract (where it gets paid the same no matter how much time it takes) to the cost-plus contract (where it gets paid for its costs plus profit). This may be accomplished by instructing employees to write down on their time cards that they worked on the cost-plus contract when they actually worked on the fixed-price contract.  A Government Contractor that charges fixed price work on a cost-plus contract is creating false claims or false certifications that may subject them to a Cross-Charging False Claims Act Law Suit.

Improper cost allocation false claims are a more subtle version of the cross-charging scheme. In this type of false claim, a government contractor with government contracts and private commercial contracts fails to spread or allocate their costs fairly among the different jobs. These types of false claims are typically more difficult to detect as the government contractor usually tries to hide the misallocation in indirect costs or bury the misallocations in hard to interpret records.  These improper allocation false claims are more common in large contracts where the product has military uses and private uses such as with large aircraft companies.  Government Contractors that deliberately allocate a disproportionate share of indirect or overhead costs to the government for the purpose on increasing there profits may cause themselves to be subject to Improper Allocation False Claims Law Suits, if the correct whistle blower reports the fraud.

The Truth In Negotiation Act (TINA) requires Contractors to truthfully disclose all relevant information about its costs to the government in sole-source contract negotiations. Government Contractors that submit false cost and pricing data to the Government or fail to provide accurate cost information to intentionally inflate costs to increase profits can cause liability for a violation of the Truth In Negotiation Act and may result in a Truth In Negotiation Act Violation False Claims Act Law Suit.

FEMA Fraud Qui Tam Lawsuits, HUD Fraud Qui Tam Lawsuits, and Government Contractor Fraud Qui Tam Lawsuits

In 1986 as a result of increased government contractor fraud, Congress amended the False Claims Act in order to make it easier for whistleblowers to file claims against fraudulent corporations and individuals.  The act also help protect the Whistleblower or Relator from retaliation.

The 1986 Amendment defines a "claim" as:

"...any request or demand which is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient if the United States Government provides any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded, or if the government will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded."

The whistleblower's share of recovery is a maximum of 30 percent and the government's prior knowledge of fraud now does not necessarily bar a whistleblower from collecting lost revenue. If the government took over the lawsuit, the relator can "continue as a party to the action." The defendant is also required to pay for the relator's attorney fees. The whistleblower is also protected from retaliatory actions by his or her employer. As a result or the amendment, qui tam lawsuits increased dramatically.   Though the amendment was first made fore corrupt defense contractors, the amendment has uncovered billions of dollars in health care fraud.

Anyone who defrauds the government out of revenue can be held accountable under the False Claims Act. Common defendants include defense contractors, health care providers, other government contractors & subcontractors, state and local government agencies,  and private universities. Whistleblowers often include current and former employees of the defrauding company, competitors of government contractors and public interest groups.

The False Claims Act was enacted to encourage private citizens to assist the government in the fight against fraud. Often the whistleblower faces an uphill battle as large, powerful corporations or individuals are usually named as defendants. An experienced attorney in qui tam claims may help you gain a percentage of stolen government funds.