Justice Department Recovers $2.4 Billion in False Claims Cases in Fiscal Year 2009; More Than $24 Billion Since 1986

Earlier this week, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had secured $2.4 billion in settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009. This represents the second largest annual recovery of civil fraud claims in history, and brings total recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, to more than $24 billion.

The government’s partnership with private citizens in the fight against fraud was cemented in 1986, when Congress amended the False Claims Act, the United States’ primary tool against government fraud. The amendments strengthened the act by, among other things, revising the statute’s qui tam provisions, which were intended to encourage whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of fraud. The 1986 amendments reduced the barriers to citizens suing on behalf of the government and increased the incentives to filing such suits.

Of the $2.4 billion in settlements and judgments obtained in fiscal year 2009, nearly $2 billion was recovered in lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. These provisions authorize private persons, known as “relators,” to file suit on behalf of the United States against those who have falsely or fraudulently claimed federal funds. Such cases run the gamut of federally funded programs, from Medicare and Medicaid to defense and other government procurement contracts, federally insured mortgage and other federal housing programs, disaster assistance loans, agricultural subsidies and more. Persons who knowingly make false claims for federal funds are liable for three times the government’s loss plus a civil penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 for each claim. Relators recover 15 to 25 percent of the proceeds of a successful suit if the United States intervenes in the qui tam action, and up to 30 percent if the United States declines and the relator pursues the action alone. In fiscal year 2009, relators were awarded $255 million. (This figure does not include relator shares awarded after Sept. 30, 2009.)

The government’s press release can be found at:  http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/November/09-civ-1253.html