Category: State False Claims Acts
On August 4, 2026, the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division announced the initiation of a new Strike Force to aggressively combat Medicaid fraud in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This expansion of the Division’s Northeast Health Care Fraud Strike Force, in conjunction with the expansion of the West Coast Strike Force, displays the government’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud.
On April 30, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force to target schemes in Arizona, Nevada, and the Northern District of California. The initiative reflects a coordinated effort to expand western enforcement resources and to advance data-driven approaches against fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs.
On February 14, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) signaled some “love” for whistleblowers and the future of the CFTC’s whistleblower program when announcing that Brian Young had been appointed as a new enforcement director. Young, whose career included a stint as a federal prosecutor, had most recently been the CFTC’s whistleblower chief.
Years ago, few lawyers thought a False Claims Act Case was appropriate to be resolved by mediation. It was Attorney General Janet Reno who introduced mediation to this practice area in the late 1990’s. She was optimistic the mediation process could be adapted to this and other types of Federal government-initiated litigation.
Takeaways:
- The IRS is modernizing its somewhat anemic whistleblower program.
- IRS whistleblower awards are finally rebounding.
- The IRS is aggressively targeting high-net-worth taxpayers and large corporations.
- Meanwhile, state false claims acts allowing tax-related claims continue to grow in number and have already yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries.
Takeaways:
- The Office of the Attorney General for D.C. announced a $40 million settlement with Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy, Inc., marking the largest income tax recovery in D.C. history.
- The resolution arose from a qui tam lawsuit filed under the D.C. False Claims Act relating to allegations of a longstanding income tax evasion scheme.
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.
Takeaway: Over ten years, the Maryland False Health Claims Act has returned $160M to the State. This Digest summarizes each of the 173 matters reported under the Act from 2011 through 2021.
Background of the Act
Maryland is one of 32 states with its own qui tam statute.
Takeaway: From 2018 to 2020, the New York False Claims Act yielded an impressive $216,936,354 in recoveries and returned $130,161,812 to New York State’s Medicaid Program.
New York is one of 32 states with its own qui tam statute.[1] Enacted in 2007,
Takeaway: Based on data reported by the State Attorney General, New Jersey’s False Claims Act (NJFCA) has been a legislative success. Between 2010 and 2019, the State netted $147 million under the NJFCA, while relators received $8.8 million. Over ten years, the New Jersey Attorney General filed 9 NJFCA cases,
