The penalties in a qui tam case can be extraordinary.  The Federal False Claims Act allows for treble damages, or three (3) times what the government paid for each false claim and a per claim penalty of a minimum of $11,462 and a maximum of $23,331 per claim.  In New York state, the per claim penalty amount is between $6,000 and $12,000.  As such, the penalties associated with a qui tam case can be extremely high.