To have standing as a whistleblower and bring a qui tam lawsuit, you must have direct personal knowledge of the alleged fraudulent activities. Direct knowledge means that you personally witnessed or were engaged in fraudulent actions. It cannot be based on 2nd hand knowledge that you heard from another person. The ideal whistleblower is a current or former employee of the company committing the fraud. However, qui tam plaintiffs do not have to be employees as long as they were in a position to acquire direct, first-hand knowledge of the fraud.