On May 27, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum announcing new procedures to accelerate its review and enforcement of False Claims Act (FCA) cases involving alleged fraud on federally funded benefits programs administered by states. These changes are designed to speed DOJ’s handling of whistleblower lawsuits in this area and channel government resources toward the largest, most complex, and most harmful fraud schemes. In fiscal year 2025, whistleblowers filed a record 1,297 FCA lawsuits — accounting for more than 78 percent of FCA recoveries that year.
The memorandum follows the March 16 Executive Order “Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud,” which directed DOJ to promote meritorious qui tam actions and, to the maximum extent practicable, complete review of such matters within the 60-day period contemplated by the FCA statutory provisions. Consistent with that directive, DOJ’s new protocol is aimed at accelerating review of “benefits fraud” qui tams while preserving the government’s oversight and ultimate control of those cases.
In practical terms, the protocol is intended to: (1) expedite screening and investigation of benefits fraud qui tams; (2) allow relators to assume primary responsibility for litigating certain cases, subject to DOJ oversight and control; (3) concentrate government resources on sophisticated actors responsible for the largest and most harmful fraud schemes; and (4) deploy civil, criminal, and administrative tools in a...
By JAMELLE BOUIE Donald Trump knew as well as anyone that he had lost the 2020 presidential election fair and square. He knew there was no conspiracy to commit voter fraud — no mysterious mail bal...