The U.S. DOJ is expanding its use of the False Claims Act (FCA) through launching the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative.
The Initiative will use the FCA to investigate and pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that allegedly falsely certifies compliance with federal civil rights laws.
By “strongly encourag[ing]” whistleblower complaints, the Initiative also may lead to a surge in qui tam actions raising discrimination and civil rights violation claims.
In a memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, a new enforcement effort that uses the federal False Claims Act (FCA) to pursue investigations and prosecutions of recipients of federal funding—including institutions of higher education, research centers and federal contractors—who allegedly falsely certify their compliance with federal civil rights laws. The FCA is known as the government’s “primary weapon against fraud, waste, and abuse,” because FCA violations can yield treble damages plus five-figure penalties for each false claim.
The announcement of this Initiative is significant in at least two ways. First, it marks a dramatic and material expansion of DOJ’s use of the FCA, which has been traditionally used to prosecute false or fraudulent claims submitted by recipients of federal funds rather than allegations of discrimination by federal grant recipients and...
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