How prominent is the role played by individual whistleblowers in money recoveries targeting fraud committed against the United States?
Truly, its magnitude can hardly be overstated. Relevant statistics flatly show that government recoveries in fraud cases brought under the federal False Claims Act would be materially diminished without the active and ongoing involvement of whistleblowers.
Federal fraud cases involving whistleblowers are termed “qui tam” actions, meaning loosely that they are claims brought on behalf of both a defrauded sovereign government and an individual. A recent article on False Claims Act qui tam whistleblower claims and recoveries stresses that individuals who spotlight fraud-linked wrongdoing have played an increasingly important role for several decades. Their involvement has steadily increased since 1986. Congress upped the incentives that year for persons with inside knowledge of government fraud to come forward.
The U.S. Department of Justice recently underscored whistleblowers’ key role in criminal fraud cases. The DOJ stressed that qui tam case outcomes netted more than $2 billion in recoveries during fiscal year 2018. That amounted to more than 70% taken in during the entire years in FCA cases. Moreover, individual whistleblower involvement featured in more than 80% of all new cases pursued last year.
The above-cited media report stresses that, although FCA actions “may cover just about anything,” they most frequently spotlight wrongdoing in the medical and defense industries, respectively. In fact, a stunning 90% or so of all FCA fraud recoveries made by the government last year involved the health care realm.
Questions or concerns regarding any aspect of a whistleblower claim can be directed to attorneys with a demonstrated record of client advocacy in this specialized legal realm.
