(1.) The Evidence Must Be Concrete and Specific
Hunches and beliefs will not suffice to support guilt in a case. The evidence must offer proof of the guilt or negligence being demonstrated by the violating individual or organization. This does not mean that the evidence required be a written email, letter, video or other types of physical evidence to prove the offense; however, having these to support your claim significantly helps to increase the likelihood of achieving the appropriate verdict and can be necessary to attract the engagement of the Department of Justice and related entities. They want to manage the risk of wasting thier time on a case that will not easily won with verifiable evidence, and desire to take on those cases which often appear to have the largest potential money gains for the government. The greater the amount of proof and supporting evidence, the greater the chance of bringing the violator to justice, returning tax payer money to the government and you receiving your reward.
(2.) The Evidence Must Be Original
The whistleblower or individual reporting the fraud violation does not necessarily have to have witnessed the crime firsthand, however; it cannot be evidence based upon information gathered from public sources such as an announcment made on TV, a report found on the the internet or an article discovered in a public newspaper. These public sources can be used as support in some cases as long as the reporting individual can reveal how he/she was able to use these public sources in a uniquely revealing manner that helps confirm the fraud the individual is reporting. In the end, the whistleblower must provide unique information that the government does not already have itself or could not otherwise gather itself from public sources or other government agencies.
(3.) The Claim Must Be Brought Within the Statute of Limitations
In other words, generally speaking the claim must be reported in most cases within 6 years of when it occurred to be viable in accordance with the False Claims Act. However, various states have their own industry specific whistleblower laws where some claims must be made within 30 days to file their report. These statute time frames are subject to change.
When a securities claim is reported to the SEC in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act, claims tyically need to be made within 3 years of the violation. This time frame is also applicable to claims made to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (USCFTC). Exceptions to these rules can exist, but assuming one is considering to make a report, time is always working against those who wait to act.
(4.) Must Be the First to File the Claim
Although a whistleblower may be within the statute of limitations and provide high quality, original evidence, it is also important that the reporting entity be the first file the claim. The US government only rewards one person, and only the first person who comes forward to talk to them about it is allowed to file the claim based upon the same facts. So it is important to get your case reported early. The reporting timeframe however does not start when the inidividual brings the claim to OffRecord. It begins instead when the DOJ has been notified of the potential claim. And it will take time to establish a working relationship between yourself and organization, for OffRecord to bring onboard the right legal counsel, and to then prepare and submit the appropriate legal package through the DOJ channels. It is important however that the whistleblower make his decision to report this information to OffRecord or a similar organization shortly after the knnown event has occured. That prevents others from reporting the violation and capturning the reward ideally meant for you. By reporting the violation to OffRecord, you have someone working diligently on your behalf to get your claim presented in the most effective manner, so ultimately you will be more prepared and likely to get your package in first. Also, if you submit at approximately the same time as another group, but perhaps even slightly behind them, if the package submitted to the DOJ appears to be better articulated with stronger evidence, your case may be chosen over the earlier submitted package.