A qui tam is theoretically possible. It's success would depend on a variety of factors including whether the website under discussion is a real business perpetrating a fraud, or, alternatively, a "troll" designed to get people like college profs all in a lather.
Beyond the troll question, the statutory requirements for a federal qui tam are set forth at http://www.taf.org/resource/fca/federal-law. As a practical matter, speaking as a qui tam attorney, I wonder how much money, if any, the federal government has lost, and whether an outsider, like an indignant business law prof, could find the evidence necessary, pre-discovery, to get past a Rule 9(b) motion to dismiss.
Kurt S. Schulzke, JD, CPA, CFE
Associate Professor of Accounting & Business Law
Director - Law, Ethics & Regulation
Corporate Governance Center
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, Georgia USA
+1770-423-6379 (O)
+1404-861-5729 (C)
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http://whistleblowercentral.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael O'Hara" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 5:27:02 PM
Subject: Re: For those of you who are teaching online courses
ALSBTALK:
In most jurisdictions obtaining a public record under false pretenses will be a felony. But, can you get service of process on the defendant's agent who is aiding and abetting the fraud?
http://api.fastdomain.com/cgi/whois?domain=wetakeyourclass.com
For example, http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=s8703002000
Would a qui tam action be in order?
Michael
Professor Michael J. O'Hara, J.D., Ph.D.
Mammel Hall 228
Finance, Banking, and Real Estate Department
College of Business Administration
University of Nebraska at Omaha
6708 Pine Street
Omaha NE 68182
http://cba.unomaha.edu/faculty/mohara/web/ohara.htm
402_554_2823 voice fax 402_554_2680 (not private)
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Co-Editor, The Earnings Analyst
www.A-R-E-A.org
Book Review Editor, Economics & Business Journal
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/neba/journal/home.htm
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