Government Real Estate Grants Texas
Have you Blown the Whistle on Something?
Qui tam is a Latin phrase given to the action of a plaintiff suing for the state as well as himself. The plaintiff bringing the action, if he wins, receives part of the penalty recovered. The balance of the penalty is awarded to the state. Qui tam is a legal provision under the False Claims Act that allows for a private individual (called a whistleblower) with knowledge of past or present fraud committed against the United States federal government to bring suit on its behalf.
The individual bringing the suit is also called the “relator.” In qui tam cases, the relator need not have been personally harmed by the defendant’s conduct. The False Claims Act grants the relator between 15-30% of any settlement amount. In addition, the statute provides for payment of the relator’s attorneys’ fees. Attorneys are necessary in qui tam lawsuits because the action is taken on behalf of the government and that may only be done by an attorney.
Qui tam is a very successful tool in combating fraud. This law arms private citizens with direct knowledge of fraud with a weapon to prosecute government contractors and others defrauding the government and to share in the monetary recovery.
Types of Cases
There are several types of cases that are filed as qui tam actions. One of the most common types of cases filed is the mischarging case. Mischarging cases generally involve filing false claims for goods and services that were never provided or delivered. A very common mischarging situation is employee labor charged to a government contract not worked on. Other common schemes are claims made to the government for medical services performed by a physician when the service was actually performed by a nurse or other healthcare provider that should have been billed at a much lower rate.
Yet another type of qui tam case is the false negotiation or defective pricing that involves the submission of false cost and pricing data to the government. This takes place during the negotiation of a contract that subsequently results in an inflated contract price. Other cases involve product and service substitution such as falsely certifying that a product meets specifications and false testing schemes certifying the reliability of an unreliable product.
Filers of qui tam legal action are usually employees who have blown the whistle on employers; former employees who may have been terminated or quit under duress as a result of trying to blow the whistle internally; competitors/subcontractors who have knowledge of fraud; state and local governments who bring action against contractors and medical providers as a means of recovering state or local revenue lost as a result of the fraudulent schemes; and federal employees with knowledge of fraud.
Some of the most common defendants in qui tam actions are government contractors and subcontractors, medical providers, private universities (for their handling of federal grants and research and development money), and state and local government agencies and officials (they are recipients of large amounts of federal money). Typically, any organization or individual person who uses federal money can be charged as a defendant in a qui tam action.
Once a qui tam action is filed, the government will either intervene in the case, dismiss the case, or settle the case, and the whistleblower will be entitled to his share of the total amount recovered by the government should the case be heard.
About the Author
If you believe you have a Qui Tam or whistleblower lawsuit in Texas or anywhere in the United States, please contact The Coffman Law Firm today to schedule your initial consultation.
How can I appy for a government grant to buy a business?
I am looking for a legit grant from the U.S. Government to buy and Horse ranch in Texas which would also be my first real estate purchase.
You stand a greater chance of getting a government-guaranteed loan through the Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/financing than a government grant. Read the SBA Financing page to learn about criteria needed for borrowing
It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.
Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.html
“The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments.”
Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE’S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show
Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program
Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs
I suggest you read the following books to get ideas of how to finance your business:
Financing Your Small Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572484500/powerhomebizguid
Small Business Financing: How and Where To Get It http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0808007386/powerhomebizguid
Financing the Small Business: A Complete Guide to Obtaining Bank Loans and All Other Types of Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580626815/powerhomebizguid
The SBA Loan Book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158062202X/powerhomebizguid
Angel Capital : How to Raise Early-Stage Private Equity Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471690635/powerhomebizguid
Financing Your Small Business (Barron’s Business Library Series) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764124897/powerhomebizguid
For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center’s Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . It’s a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for “students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices.” Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don’t have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.
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