The attorney will write a legal complaint incorporating your knowledge of fraud into a legal document to file with the court. The qui tam law also requires that the relator file a written disclosure statement that lays out the scheme and provides all known relevant facts. You may think that your involvement in the legalistic complaint and disclosure statement may be minimal but it is very important that you stay involved. Although the attorney leads in this area, you will ultimately be the person that signs the complaint and qui tam disclosure statement stating that they are true and factual. Make sure that every fact is correct and if you don’t understand the language, have the attorney explain it to you. You and your attorney will have to live with these documents throughout the case and the defense attorneys, if they get a hold of them, will pick at every slight mistake or factual error in order to impeach your credibility. Don’t sign the complaint and written disclosure statement until you feel absolutely confident that it is correct.
The qui tam complaint and disclosure statement is best viewed as the “first impression” to the government attorneys for your case. They see a lot of cases and may not display the same outrage you have about the fraud you uncovered. To get their attention, this “first impression” of your case, as seen through the complaint and disclosure statement, will go a long way in determining whether the government has the right attitude toward your case at the outset.