Lebau & Neuworth attorneys are members Taxpayers Against Fraud, whose attorney members represent whistleblowers in False Claims Act case. TAF’s review of 2017 False Claims Act cases shows it was a very good year for whistleblower recoveries, with the following findings:
- Fiscal Year 2017 was a very good year for the False Claims Act, even if total recoveries fell behind those tallied in Fiscal Years 2012, 2014, and 2016.
- In FY 2017, more than $3.7 billion in settlements and judgments were recovered under the federal civil False Claims Act. This number reflects only recoveries of federal funds and does not include the large sums collected for state Medicaid programs or criminal penalties associated with False Claims Act cases.
- Of the $3.7 billion, $2.4 billion was recovered in health care cases. This is the eighth consecutive year that FCA health care fraud settlements and judgments have exceeded $2 billion.
- The largest recoveries in FY 2017 were in the drug and medical device industries.
- Of the $3.7 billion recovered to the federal government in False Claims Act settlements and judgments in Fiscal Year 2017, $3.4 billion was recovered in whistleblower-initiated qui tam lawsuits.
- Over $898 million was collected in False Claims Act cases where DOJ declined to intervene. The U.S. Department of Justice collected $265.5 million in all direct-filed cases.
Lebau & Neuworth attorneys presently have several major False Claims Act under review and investigation of the U.S. Department of Justice. More than one of the cases has led to criminal indictments.
Before you or someone you know blows the whistle on government fraud, contact the attorneys at Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.
