A relator is paid by the government from the proceeds collected from the defendant(s) through a judgment or settlement. Subject to eligibility requirements, a relator is entitled to receive between 15% and 25% of the amount recovered when the government intervenes in the action. If the government declines to intervene, the relator’s share is increased to 25% to 30%. If a qui tam action is successful, the relator also is entitled to legal fees and other expenses of the action. These costs are paid directly to the relator by the defendant. In some cases, the government may pursue a different proceeding other than an FCA action. This is known as an alternate remedy in the FCA.  If the alternate remedy is based on the relator’s original information, the relator is entitled to receive the same share of the recovery as would have been awarded through the relator’s FCA suit. The Department of Justice considers a number of factors in determining whether to increase or decrease the relator’s share.  Some of the factors considered for increasing the share include the timeliness of the relator’s reporting the fraud to the government; the degree of assistance provided by the relator during the investigation and trial; and the significance of the relator’s information in securing a recovery from the defendant. Some of the factors that DOJ considers in decreasing the percentage of the relator’s share include the relator’s participation in the fraud; the extent that the relator’s knowledge is based on public information; and significant delays in reporting the fraud. In certain circumstances, the court has discretion to reduce the relator’s share to a maximum of 10%. If the relator is convicted of a crime involving the fraud that is the subject of the qui tam action, the court must dismiss the relator from the action and bar them from any recovery.