The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Feb. 7, 2023, released its annual statistics for its civil False Claims Act (FCA) and fraud cases from the 2022 fiscal year (FY).

Up front, we see the following key takeaways:

1. For the first time on record, the value of settlements and judgments where DOJ declined and relators pursued the case was higher than in DOJ-led cases.
2. DOJ pursued with increased success cases outside the healthcare industry and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
3. The total number of cases is slowly but steadily increasing, both in qui tam and DOJ-initiated cases; however, the total amount recovered is the lowest since 2008.

DOJ reports it recovered more than $2.2 billion for 351 settlements and judgments, the second-highest quantity of settlements and judgments in a single year. Still an incredibly large number, this year's dollar recovery pales in comparison to years past where a few very large recoveries inflated the total:

More important than the total is the story the underlying numbers tell. Namely, that FCA enforcement actions continue to rise. The DOJ's report highlights an increase in total of number of cases brought by both the government and qui tam relators:

The data demonstrates a continued upward trend of government enforcement under this administration, with 296 new matters initiated by the government, compared to 212 in the prior year. Government initiation is still significantly outpaced by whistleblowers, who filed 652 qui tam suits in fiscal...

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