False Claims Act of 1863

False Claims Act of 1863
Great Seal of the United States
United States Supreme Court cases

The False Claims Act of 1863 (FCA)[1] is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs. It is the federal government's primary litigation tool in combating fraud against the government.[2] The law includes a qui tam provision that allows people who are not affiliated with the government, called "relators" under the law, to file actions on behalf of the government. This is informally called "whistleblowing", especially when the relator is employed by the organization accused in the suit. Persons filing actions under the Act stand to receive a portion (15–30%, depending on certain factors) of any recovered damages.[3]

As of 2019, over 71% of all FCA actions were initiated by whistleblowers.[4] Claims under the law have typically involved government health care programs (Medicare, Medicaid and TriCare), military, or other government spending programs. FCA actions dominate the list of largest pharmaceutical settlements. Between 1987 and 2019, the government recovered more than $62 billion under the False Claims Act.[5]

  1. ^ "govinfo". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved Jul 23, 2020.
  2. ^ United States ex rel. Steury v. Cardinal Health, Inc., 625 F.3d 262, 267 (5th Cir. 2010) ("The FCA is the Government's primary litigation tool for recovering losses resulting from fraud.").
  3. ^ "The False Claims Act: A Primer" (PDF). Department of Justice. February 22, 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-11-13.
  4. ^ "FRAUD STATISTICS - OVERVIEW". Department of Justice (Civil Division). September 30, 2019.
  5. ^ "Justice Department Recovers over $3 Billion from False Claims Act Cases in Fiscal Year 2019". Department of Justice. January 9, 2020.