In a matter of first impression, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a relator cannot partake of proceeds from an FCA action if he has been convicted of criminal conduct arising from his role in the fraud. A CH2M Hill employee, Carl Schroeder, participated in fraudulent over-billing practices along with many of his colleagues. Schroeder pled guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud. After initial interviews by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General, but prior to filing of criminal charges against CH2M Hill, Schroeder filed a qui tam suit against his employer. The district court concluded that 31 U.S.C. § 3730(d)(3) of the False Claims Act required Schroeder’s dismissal, and on his appeal, the Ninth Circuit agreed – the fact that Schroeder was only a minor participant who neither planned nor initiated the fraud did not exempt him from the statute’s plain language.