Opinion ID: 61750
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Was Fried the original source of the information underlying his claim?

Text: An original source is someone with direct and independent knowledge of the information which forms the basis of his claims, who provides the information to the Government before filing suit. [2] 31 U.S.C. § 3730(e)(4)(B); Reagan, 384 F.3d at 177. In order to be `direct,' the information must be firsthand knowledge. In order to be `independent,' the information known by the relator cannot depend or rely on the public disclosures. United States ex rel. Findley v. FPC-Boron Employees' Club, 105 F.3d 675, 690 (D.C.Cir. 1997). Fried argues his professional experience with the Social Security Administration and the information he acquired after conducting his own independent investigation into the use of the last day exemption by West ISD make him an original source of the information underlying his fraud claim. As an initial matter, the record must show that Fried did more than apply his expertise to publicly-disclosed information: second-hand information may [not] be converted into direct independent knowledge simply because the plaintiff discovered through investigation or experience what the public already knew. Instead, the investigation or experience of the relator either must translate into some additional compelling fact, or must demonstrate a new and undisclosed relationship between disclosed facts, that puts a governmental agency on the trail of fraud, where that fraud might otherwise go unnoticed. Reagan, 384 F.3d at 179. Fried particularly focuses us on the information he obtained through conversations and email exchanges with West ISD's business manager. He posed as either a retiring teacher or someone seeking other employment. Through his sleuthing, Fried discovered that under the last day exemption a teacher could work 6.5 hours and receive social security coverage whereas someone not participating in the program would not be able to obtain social security benefits unless they worked over 30 hours. These are the direct and independent allegations he asserts. This is not the type of direct or independent knowledge contemplated by the False Claims Act. Fried merely received information about a program that had been publicly disclosed and hotly debated. Fried's argument that his allegations are unique because they relate to this school district's fraud is also insufficient. Fried argues that without the information he received through his independent investigation, the manner in which the last day exemption was being implemented by West ISD would have gone undetected by the Social Security Administration. The record belies this contention. Every aspect of the last day exemption program was well known  including its potential for abuse by Texas school districts. The burden was on Fried to show that the information and allegations he discovered were qualitatively different information than what had already been discovered and not merely the product and outgrowth of publicly disclosed information. Fed. Recovery Servs., Inc., 72 F.3d at 452. Fried has not met this burden. For these reasons the district court correctly held that Fried was not an original source under the False Claims Act. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.