A recent announcement by the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) garnered attention for the Administrative False Claims Act (AFCA), which was previously named the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986. The AFCA was enacted in December 2024, and many agencies are slowly implementing and addressing its procedures through rulemaking, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Railroad Retirement Board—and of relevance here and most recently—the CBCA. The CBCA’s changes are driven by the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which expanded AFCA-related CBCA jurisdiction. Agencies now have an additional enforcement tool to pursue contractors they believe submitted not only false claims, but any false written statement—significantly increasing administrative risk exposure.

The AFCA

The AFCA enables administrative recovery of small-dollar false claims up to $1 Million when DOJ declines to pursue an allegedly false statement or claim judicially. The original threshold was limited to no greater than $150,000, showing a large increase in the claims that could fall under the AFCA. The AFCA serves as an alternate enforcement mechanism that allows agencies to pursue allegedly fraudulent claims or written statements directly. Its liability framework largely parallels the federal False Claims Act (FCA), though it authorizes double damages rather than the FCA’s treble damages. The AFCA omits...

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