According to the DOJ, in Fiscal Year 2020 alone, the government recovered over $2.2 billion in FCA settlements and judgements. Since the False Claims Act was signed into law, it has become the most successful anti-fraud act in the United States. The False Claims Act is Enormously Successful You can learn more about reverse false claims here. The Fraud Enhancement and Recovery Act, passed in 2009, has only strengthened this type of case by expanding liability under the False Claims Act for making false or fraudulent claims to the federal government. In making a false statement on a custom declaration or undervaluing and misclassifying goods, the entity has kept the government from receiving proper compensation. Multiple whistleblowers have filed successful FCA cases exposing violations of customs and import laws. One example would be customs violations on imports coming into the U.S. However, it also applies to instances in which a wrongdoer has prevented the government from collecting what it is owed. Common examples are Medicaid/Medicare fraud and defense contracting. The False Claims Act is traditionally understood to encompass instances when an entity submits a bill to the government for work that was not performed or work that was performed poorly. The Handbook is a step-by-step guide to the essential tools for successfully blowing the whistle, qualifying for financial rewards, and protecting yourself. To learn more about the “first to file” clause, read The New Whistleblower’s Handbook, the first-ever guide to whistleblowing, by the nation’s leading whistleblower attorney. The “first to file” clause has two main aims: (1) to incentivize timely whistleblower reports to the government, and (2) to discourage additional lawsuits that either do not allege a different type of fraud or could not result in a separate and distinct recovery. Future allegations will be barred if they state the facts that have already been disclosed in another whistleblower claim or prior qui tam case. In practice, what this means is that whoever files first is the only person with a right to the compensation claim. This is known as the “first to file” provision. The text of the False Claims Act reads in part: “No other person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action.” To learn more about how NWC assists whistleblowers, please visit our Find an Attorney page. If you need help or want to contact an attorney, please fill out a confidential intake form. To learn more about the specifics of the law, check out our FAQ page here. – so long as there is federal spending, procurement or contracting, (2) s uitable for building criminal cases as well as civil, and (3) p ossible for anyone to serve as a whistleblower, including non U.S. As a result, it is (1) applicable to conduct outside the U.S. It is important to note that the FCA was written to be expansive. These rewards are often substantial, since under the False Claims Act, the criminal is liable for a civil penalty as well as treble damages.

Provided that their original information results in a successful prosecution, whistleblowers are awarded a mandatory reward of between 15% to 30% of the collected proceeds. Under this provision, whistleblowers can be rewarded for confidentially disclosing fraud that results in a financial loss to the federal government. District Courts, on behalf of the United States government. This important provision allows any individual or non-governmental organization to file a lawsuit, in U.S. Since its original signing, the False Claims Act has seen several revisions and become increasingly powerful, but one aspect has remained since its conception: the qui tam, or whistleblower, provision. In an effort to counter this, the FCA was passed to target fraud in government contracting and against the government. In the midst of wartime, it had become clear that many suppliers were providing substandard goods and services to the troops.

It was originally signed into law in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. The False Claims Act (FCA) is America’s first whistleblower law and one of the strongest whistleblower laws in the United States.

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