Rule 6: Get a Reward! False Claims Act/Qui Tam
“The bill offers…a reward to the informer who comes into court and betrays his co-conspirator, if he be such; but it is not confined to that class…I have based the [False Claims Act] upon the old-fashioned idea of holding out a temptation, and ‘setting a rouge to catch a rogue,’ which is the safest and most expeditious way I have ever discovered of bringing rogues to justice.”
- KBR v. U.S. ex rel. Carter, 135 S. Ct. 1970 (2015) (clarifying the “first to file” rule and the statute of limitations)
- U.S. ex rel. Escobar v. Universal Health Services, 136 S.Ct. 1989 (2016) (recognizing implied certification claims)
- State Farm v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby, 137 S.Ct. 436 (2016) (sanctions for violating seal)
- Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. U.S. ex rel. Stevens, 529 U.S. 765 (2000) (Holding that permitting whistleblowers to file claims on behalf of the United States to recover monies obtained fraudulently by contractors is constitutional)
- Rockwell International v. U.S., 549 U.S. 457 (2007) (standing requirements for whistleblower to qualify for reward) (FCA amendments enacted in 2010 modified this ruling)
- U.S. ex rel. Davis v. District of Columbia, 679 F. 3d 832 (D.C. Cir. 2012) (rejecting narrow interpretation of “original source”).
- Moore v. California Institute of Technology, 275 F.3d 838 (9th Cir. 2002) (Setting forth elements of Major Frauds Act claim in addition to a False Claims Act claim)
- Cook County v. U.S. ex rel. Chandler, 538 U.S. 119 (2003) (Municipal corporations covered under FCA).
- Decisions interpreting the original intent of the FCA: U.S. ex rel. Marcus v. Hess, 317 U.S. 537 (1943); United States v. Griswold, 24 F. 361 (D. Ore. 1885)
- Justice Department Recovers Over $3.7 Billion From FCA Cases in FY2017
- Whistleblowers Responsible for More Than Sixty Percent of FCA Recoveries in 2016
- Huge Win for Whistleblowers with Unanimous Supreme Court Decision
- Big Win for Whistleblowers at Supreme Court
- U.S. Department of Justice Press Release in U.S. v. Yingshun Garments
- Importers Beware: False Claims Act of Import Procedures on the Rise
Read the case summaries of False Claims Act settlements by the Department of Justice from 2013-2016. These cases were initiated by whistleblowers using the qui tam provisions of the FCA.
- 2018 False Claims Act Cases
- 2017 False Claims Act Cases
- 2016 False Claims Act Cases
- 2015 False Claims Act Cases
- 2014 False Claims Act Cases
The Department of Justice’s Statistics on Fraud Recoveries from the False Claims Act
The table below shows that since the FCA was modernized in 1986, whistleblowers account for almost 70 percent of all civil fraud recoveries.
1986 False Claims Act Reform
1986 Legislative History
- Economic Crime Council’s 1985 report on the False Claims Act
- Merit Systems Protection Board’s 1984 report on the False Claims Act Part 1, Part 2
Senate Proceedings
- Senate Bill introduced November 6th, 1979
- November 19th, 1979 Improvements in Judicial Machinery Subcommittee Report
- March 4th, 1980 Judiciary Committee Report
- Senator Grassley’s remarks on the FCA, August 1st, 1985
- Senate Bill Reported with Amendment August 1st, 1985
- September 17th 1985, Administrative Practice and Procedure Report
- Senate Bill introduced September 20, 1985
- October 1st, 1985 Administrative Practice and Procedure Subcommittee Report Part 1, Part 2
- September 17, 1985 Administrative Practice and Procedure Subcommittee Report Part 1, Part 2
- October 3rd, 1985 Senate Debate
- June 17th, 1986 Judiciary Committee Hearing Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
- July 28th, 1986 Judiciary Committee Report
- August 11th, 1986 Senate Debate
House Proceedings
- House Bill introduced April 29 1985
- February 5th and 6th, 1986 Administrative Law and Governmental Relations Subcommittee Report Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
- June 26, 1986 Judiciary Committee report
- House Bill reported with Amendment June 26, 1986
- House Bill referred to Judiciary Committee
- September 9th, 1986 House Debate
- October 7th, 1986 House Debate
False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007
- December 19, 2007 Bill introduced
False Claims Act Correction Act of 2008
- September 12, 2007 Bill introduced
- September 25th, 2008 Senate Report
False Claims Act Correction Act of 2009
- March 30th, 2009 Bill introduced
Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009
Historical Versions of the False Claims Act
- The National Whistleblower Center’s Report, Saving America’s “Most Important tool to Uncover and Punish Fraud”
- Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Improvements in Judicial Machinery of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate (November 19, 1979)