United States Ex Rel. Hastings v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Relator Brian Hastings appeals from the district court’s dismissal of his qui tam suit under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-33 . He contends that the district court erred by applying the 1986 definition of “original source” to his suit instead of the 2010 definition. We need not resolve that issue because Hastings is not an “original source” under either definition.

1. Under the 1986 version of the FCA, an original source is someone who has “direct and independent knowledge of the information on which the allegations are based.” Id. § 3730(e)(4)(B) (1986). Hastings is not an original source under this standard.

Hastings’ 1997 letters to HUD consisted of speculation rather than knowledge. “[T]he purpose of the FCA is to encourage individuals with true ‘knowledge’ of alleged wrongdoing to come forward,” so “the purposes of the Act would not be served by allowing a relator to maintain a qui tam suit based on pure speculation or conjecture.” United States ex rel. Aflatooni v. Kitsap Physicians Servs., 163 F.3d 516, 526 (9th Cir. 1999). The 1997 letters described the Nehemiah program in general and the possibility that it would increase the default rate for…