The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a qui tam relator is not entitled to intervene in criminal forfeiture proceedings that are derived from the relator’s False Claims Act case, in order to seek a share of the forfeited assets.

In this case, the relator alleged that her employers submitted fraudulent claims to federal healthcare programs. The government did not intervene, but instead prosecuted them under overlapping criminal charges. The relator sought to intervene in the subsequent forfeiture proceedings, using the alternate-remedy provision of the FCA, but the district court denied her motion, which she appealed.

The 11th Circuit held that criminal forfeiture statutes barred her from intervening in the proceedings unless she either had a legal right to the property before the defendant committed the offense, or was a bona fide purchaser for value. However it noted that she would be entitled to a share if the government successfully pursued civil action against the employers.

Read the full post from Weiner Brodsky Kider PC via JD Supra