Another Banner Year for False Claims Act Recoveries Signals More of the Same for 2018
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) reported $3.7 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments for fiscal year 2017, the 8th straight year of 3-plus-billion-dollar recoveries and 700-plus new cases filed. Healthcare, mortgage, and procurement fraud once again dominated recoveries. This article analyzes DOJ’s FCA statistics, and includes our predictions for continued strong enforcement in 2018.
Healthcare matters comprised roughly two-thirds of recoveries, with $2.4 billion collected from drug companies, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, and physicians. The DOJ also vigorously pursued procurement fraud in 2017, recovering $220 million from defense contractors, and the majority of that amount, $208 million, came from qui tam cases in which the U.S. intervened. For instance, the DOJ settled two qui tam cases in which Department of Energy contractors agreed to pay $125 million to resolve allegations that they charged the government for deficient nuclear quality materials, services, and testing provided in conjunction with the design and build of a nuclear waste treatment plant. The settlement also resolved claims that the contractors used federal contract funds to pay for lobbying activities.
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