California’s False Claims Act Has Returned $2 Billion to the Golden State Since 2001

Takeaway: California has recovered over $2 billion under the State’s False Claims Act since 2001, according to data obtained from the State Attorney General’s Office.

Enacted in 1987, the California False Claims Act (“CAFCA”) is one of the oldest qui tam statutes in the country. [1]

The CAFCA empowers private citizens (called “relators”) to file suit against any person or business that “[k]nowingly presents or causes to be presented [to the state or any political subdivision] . . . a false claim for payment or approval.” [2] CAFCA actions may also be initiated by California’s Attorney General or by the prosecuting authority for a political subdivision. [3]  Violators of the Act are liable to the State for treble damages and civil penalties. [4]

To encourage whistleblowing, the CAFCA rewards successful relators with up to 50% of the State’s recovery. [5] The size of the “relator’s share” typically depends on whether the relator or the State prosecutes the case. [6] The relator’s share may be reduced if the relator participated in the fraud. [7]

Data recently obtained from the State Attorney General’s Office reveals that the CAFCA has yielded large recoveries for the Golden State. [8]

Recoveries and Filings under California’s False Claims Act, Cal. Gov. Code § 12650, et seq.
Year	Amount the State recovered under the California’s False Claims Act	Amount deposited into the State’s False Claims Act Fund	Number of cases filed by private individuals	Number of cases filed by the State Attorney General*	Number of cases with unknown filers**
2001	$58,642,172.00	$24,893,439.32	2	0	32
2002	$34,273,320.00	$5,613,563.00	4	0	58
2003	$3,791,282.00	$1,257,489.06	6	0	34
2004	$0.00	$0.00	15	0	15
2005	$13,253,622.95	$10,460,695.57	25	0	3
2006	$14,705,000.00	$3,914,587.06	34	0	0
2007	$40,000,000.00	$15,873,272.00	13	0	0
2008	$165,300,000.00	$3,851,687.00	16	0	0
2009	$700,832.77	$65,762.40	20	0	0
2010	$645,751.84	$323,642.75	29	0	0
2011	$16,105,000.00	$940,500.00	33	0	0
2012	$3,595,835.24	$1,916,083.65	31	0	0
2013	$300,365,903.89	$19,847,271.51	24	1	0
2014	$405,541,000.00	$8,808,230.00	18	0	0
2015	$258,263,922.58	$28,475,563.23	12	0	0
2016	$32,410,500.00	$6,508,750.00	6	1	0
2017	$275,000,000.00	$16,250,000.00	11	0	0
2018	$102,000,000.00	$22,300,533.00	11	0	0
2019	$161,658,246.10	$21,189,018.50	14	1	0
2020	$127,248,480.00	$3,439,259.50	15	0	0
2021	$2,865,409.24	$398,699.30	4	0	0
Totals	$2,016,366,278.61	$196,328,046.85	345	3	183
*These are the number of cases opened within each year in Prolaw (the Attorney General’s Office electronic filing system); not the dates they were filed in court. Matters are typically opened in Prolaw whenever a California False Claims Act complaint is served on the Attorney General’s Office, which generally happens shortly after filing. Prolaw software was unavailable until 2005. Cases that were open in 2005 in the Legacy software system were transferred to Prolaw.
** These cases were identified as inactive converted legacy cases in Prolaw. There are no electronic files in Prolaw to determine whether private individuals filed or the California Attorney General filed.

 

Over two decades, California has recovered $2,016,366,278.61 under the CAFCA. Private citizens have originated nearly all CAFCA cases. In fact, the State Attorney General has brought only three CAFCA actions since 2005.

Nearly $197 million of the recovered funds was deposited into the “False Claims Act Fund,” which supports ongoing investigations and prosecutions by California’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). [9]

In Federal Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2021, which runs from October 1 through September 30, California’s MFCU had 1,472 open cases.

Number of Investigations by Case Type (FY 2021)
Case Type	Open Cases (End of the Prior FY)	New Cases (Current FY)	Closed Cases (Current FY)	Open Cases (Current Total)
Fraud	1,038	177	226	989
Abuse and Neglect	606	253	376	483
Total	1,644	430	602	1,472

 

At the end of FY 2021, California’s MFCU was staffed by 186 individuals, including 49 attorneys.

Unit Personnel (FY 2021)
Total Staff on Board*	186
Attorneys	49
Investigators	61
Auditors	22
Other	54
Total Approved Positions**	239
*Total number of MFCU staff actually employed at the end of the FY.
**Total number of MFCU staff authorized and approved under the grant.

 

[1] Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12650 to 12656.

[2] Cal. Gov. Code §§ 12651(a)(1), 12652(c)(1).

[3] Cal. Gov. Code § 12652(a)(1) and (b)(1)

[4] Cal. Gov. Code § 12651(a)(1).

[5] Cal. Gov. Code § 12652(g)(2)‒(5).

[6] Id.

[7] Cal. Gov. Code § § 12652(g)(5).

[8] The author obtained this data under the  California Public Records Act.

[9] Cal. Gov. Code § 12652(j).