DOJ Reports $3.583 Billion in False Claims Act Recoveries for 2015
December 11, 2015 – The results are in. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has released its statistics on the False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries for fiscal year 2015 in a recent announcement. Though total recoveries for qui tam cases are down from 2014’s record high, 2015 stands out as a winning year for whistleblowers in qui tam cases in which the government has declined to intervene. Total recoveries remain over $3.5 billion for the fourth year in a row.
The False Claims Act empowers whistleblowers who uncover fraudulent practices in public programs to file a lawsuit on the government’s behalf. Whistleblowers, also referred to as “relators,” are rewarded with a portion of the government’s recovery, and may also recover any damages resulting from retaliation against them. As the statistics in the 2015 report show, the False Claims Act continues to be the most effective tool used to uncover and prosecute fraud against the government.
Of note, in 2015 the total dollar value of whistleblower awards for cases in which the government declined to intervene has surpassed the total whistleblower awards in cases where the government has taken over litigation. This is a first time event, and is evidence that whistleblowers and their attorneys are both willing and able to successfully litigate and resolve False Claims Act cases even where the government steps aside.
Some of the other highlights extrapolated from the Civil Division’s Fraud Statistics report include:
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- 632: Fewest FCA cases filed since 2010
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- $1.9 billion: Healthcare fraud cases continued to lead FCA recoveries in 2015
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- $1.1 billion: Government contracts recoveries also remained high
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- Relator’s share awards have increased in declined cases
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- Best year ever for relator recoveries in declined qui tam cases, and first year to exceeded relator recoveries in cases where the government intervened
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- More recoveries obtained from declined qui tam cases than all previous years combined (2015: $1.149 billion; 1987-2014: $1.006 billion)
- Total recoveries down 38% from 2014, but still remain over $3.5 billion for the fourth consecutive year
Contact Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel to Report False Claims Act Violations
At Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel, LLP, our lawyers are well versed in the application of the False Claims Act. If you are aware of a company or individual engaging in unlawful conduct to purposefully increase the claims paid for with public funds, there are remedies recognized by the government. Please contact us to report violators defrauding the government.