The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a record-breaking $6.8 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments for fiscal year 2025 – the largest annual recovery in the FCA’s history. Up roughly 120% from 2024, this unprecedented total underscores DOJ’s aggressive enforcement approach when it comes to fraud involving Government funds. In addition to the growing recoveries, DOJ announced a new record number of cases filed by whistleblowers (which the statute refers to as “relators”). Health care cases continue to account for the lion’s share of the recoveries, although a large portion of this year’s substantial total stems from allegations involving procurement fraud, cybersecurity compliance, pandemic relief programs, and customs and tariff evasion.
Whistleblower cases (known as “qui tam actions”) continued to drive FCA enforcement. In FY 2025, relators filed 1,297 qui tam suits, dwarfing last year’s then-record of 980 suits and more than doubling the number of qui tam actions filed just four years ago. In fact, two of the largest recoveries of the year occurred in cases where DOJ declined to intervene and the relators pursued the cases all the way through trial – a case alleging false and misleading claims about prescription drugs that resulted in a $1.6 billion verdict and a case alleging false and inflated prices for generic drugs resulting in a $289 million verdict. In total, $5.3 billion of the $6.8...
In this episode of This Is Reno Radio, editors Kristen Hackbarth and Bob Conrad discuss the latest developments in a federal lawsuit stemming from a wrongful arrest at the Peppermill Casino. The c...