Jeffrey Wertkin, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with contempt of court for allegedly trying to sell a copy of a sealed False Claims Act complaint, according to Bloomberg.
The False Claims Act allows whistle-blowers to file lawsuits under seal on behalf of the government. The cases are kept under seal, sometimes for several months, while the federal government investigates the claims and decides whether to intervene.
Mr. Wertkin, who worked at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, reportedly tried to sell a sealed false claims complaint to an unidentified technology security company in Sunnyvale, Calif. An employee of the company received a voicemail Nov. 30, saying a false claims complaint had been filed against the company. When the employee called the number left on the voicemail, a man, who identified himself as "Dan", answered and said he could provide a copy of the complaint for a fee, according to report.
After "Dan" mailed a redacted copy of the complaint to the employee, the employee contacted the FBI. On Dec. 22, Dan told the employee he would provide the full complaint for $300,000 and requested to be paid in untraceable bitcoins.
After boosting the price tag for the complaint to $310,000 to cover travel expenses, "Dan" agreed to deliver the complaint to a colleague of the employee on Jan. 31.
The colleague was actually an FBI agent. At the scheduled time and place, Mr. Wertkin, who was wearing a disguise, delivered the false claims case to the agent and was immediately arrested.
It is unclear how Mr. Wertkin obtained a copy of the sealed lawsuit, which the FBI confirmed had been pending since January 2016.
"We are shocked and deeply troubled by the conduct alleged in the charges filed against Mr. Wertkin," a spokesperson with Akin Gump told Bloomberg. The spokesperson said Mr. Wertkin is no longer with the firm.
Mr. Wertkin, who made his first court appearance Feb. 1, was released from jail on $750,000 bail.
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