December 19, 2016 - Posts

2016 False Claims Act Recap: Government Recoups $4.7 Billion and Pays Out $519 Million in Rewards to Whistleblowers

2016 has been big year for recoveries under the False Claims Act. How big? Try 4.7 billion dollars. That is how much the federal government has recovered in False Claims Act settlements and judgments this year, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Justice. That makes 2016 the third best year ever for federal recoveries under that statute.

The Department’s full report is available at https: //www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-recovers-over-47-billion-false-claims-act-cases-fiscal-year-2016

The majority of that $4.7 billion recovery came from the healthcare industry

Given how prominent health care fraud has been over recent years, it should come as no surprise that the more than half of that $4.7 billion came was recovered from the healthcare industry, about $2.5 billion in total. Moreover, that $2.5 billion only counts recoveries by the federal government. State Medicaid and other state health programs have also recovered millions upon millions of dollars for fraudulent this year.

Private Whistleblowers deserve much of the credit for these huge recoveries

The Justice Department’s report also notes that more than half of the funds recovered in 2016 came from qui tam lawsuits filed by private whistleblowers—known under the statute as “relators.” The federal government recovered $2.9 billion from qui tam lawsuits in 2016, and awarded relators in those cases $519 million in awards over the same period.

Keep up the good work whistleblowers, and let’s make 2017 an even bigger year for fighting fraud. If you would like to learn more about our Whistleblower and Qui Tam practice, click here.