FraudFinder

Investigator Agreement

This agreement covers how you must conduct yourself in connection with any lead on FraudFinder. It is a plain-language agreement, not legal advice. FraudFinder is not your lawyer.

1. What a lead is

Every lead on FraudFinder is a statistical anomaly found in public federal records. A flag is not an accusation, a finding of wrongdoing, or evidence of a crime. Many flagged patterns have entirely lawful explanations. You agree to treat every lead as an unproven question, not a conclusion.

2. You certify you will act lawfully

I certify that everything I do in connection with a lead — research, contact, recording, photography, document collection, and anything I publish — will comply with every applicable federal, state, and local law. This includes, without limitation:

  • Recording and wiretap laws, including two-party-consent requirements where they apply.
  • Privacy, harassment, and stalking laws.
  • Trespass and property laws — I will not enter non-public areas without authorization.
  • Computer-access laws — I will not log into, probe, or access any system, account, device, or record I am not authorized to access.
  • Laws against impersonating government officials, law enforcement, or agency investigators.

3. Prohibited conduct — zero tolerance

I will not, under any circumstances:

  • Contact patients, staff, or families of a flagged provider under a false identity or false pretense.
  • Impersonate a government official, law enforcement officer, or agency investigator.
  • Harass, threaten, stalk, surveil, follow, or trespass on any person or property.
  • Publish an accusation of criminal conduct as established fact. Every finding I record must point to a source a reader can check.
  • Obtain records or information by deception, pretexting, bribery, or payment to insiders.
  • Access, attempt to access, or solicit access to non-public systems, accounts, or records.

Any violation of the law in connection with a lead is automatically a violation of this agreement.

4. You alone are responsible for your conduct

I understand and agree that FraudFinder does not direct, supervise, approve, or control anything I do. Anything I do in connection with a lead is done on my own initiative and at my own risk. I bear sole legal responsibility for my own conduct. FraudFinder is not liable for anything I do, and if my unlawful or wrongful conduct causes a claim, demand, or loss against FraudFinder, I will cover FraudFinder for it, including reasonable legal costs.

5. Your statements must be true

Every finding I record will be accurate to the best of my knowledge, will point to a checkable source, and will clearly separate fact from opinion. Knowingly false statements are grounds for removal and may themselves be unlawful, including as defamation or as false reports to government agencies.

6. Your work is public research

Notes, findings, and evidence you add to a lead become part of the public research record on FraudFinder, including after your claim ends. You grant FraudFinder a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to display that material. You keep the rights to your own work.

7. Claims and enforcement

A claim gives you a working window on one lead. Claims expire and the lead returns to the board, with your research preserved. FraudFinder may release a claim, remove a lead, hide a note, suspend or close an account that breaks this agreement, and may report suspected unlawful conduct to law enforcement.

8. Awards are yours

Any whistleblower award the government pays on a matter you investigated — under the federal False Claims Act, a state equivalent, or an agency reward programme — is yours alone. FraudFinder takes no share of any award and never charges you a fee to investigate.

9. No employment, no representation, no legal advice

You are not an employee, agent, partner, or legal representative of FraudFinder, and FraudFinder is not yours. You act on your own behalf. FraudFinder makes no promise that any lead is valid, that any award will be paid, or that any agency will act. Nothing on this site is legal advice; consult a licensed attorney before filing any claim.

10. Changes

FraudFinder may publish a new version of this agreement. You will be asked to sign the new version before claiming another lead. Claims already made stay under the version you signed at the time.