United States, ex rel. Stephanie Strubbe, et al. v. Crawford County Memorial Hospital, et al.

Paramedics and EMTs at a county hospital were ordered by management to perform unnecessary services and then enter incorrect time into the hospital billing software, which they were told was for "billing and cost reporting" purposes. Must these employees, Relators in a suit brought under the False Claims Act, have seen and therefore pled the exact content of billings sent to Medicare - contents which were kept secret by management - in order to be able to survive a motion to dismiss made under Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b)

When three hospital employees became concerned about billing and financial irregularities at the hospital, they undertook their own investigation about those irregularities. The employees also complained internally about the facts that ultimately led to their lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act. Do the actions of employees related to their investigation and internal complaints constitute protected activity under the Act, or must employees specifically threaten a False Claims Act lawsuit in order to be protected?