2015 DOJ False Claims Act Statistics Reveal Trend Shifts and Increasing Enforcement for 2016

Reprinted with permission from Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report. Any opinions in this article are not those of Winston & Strawn or its clients. The opinions in this article are the authors’ opinions only.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it secured in fiscal year 2015 more than $3.5 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government brought under the False Claims Act. Although this amount is lower than last year’s record $5.7 billion recovered by the DOJ in such actions, it marks the fourth consecutive year that recoveries have exceed $3.5 billion (and sixth consecutive year exceeding $3 billion). The $3.5 billion recovered in fiscal year 2015 brings the total amount that the federal government has recovered to over $26 billion, dating back to the 2009 amendment of the False Claims Act through the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act.