False Claims Act relators do not need presidential appointment to pursue fraud claims on the government’s behalf.
Private whistleblowers who pursue False Claims Act (FCA) cases on behalf of the government do not need presidential appointments because their case-specific roles lack the permanence, continuing compensation, and transferable duties characteristic of federal office, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held. Rejecting a constitutional ruling that threatened the FCA’s longstanding qui tam enforcement mechanism, the court of appeals concluded that relators do not occupy “continuing” positions subject to the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. The decision revives a Medicare fraud action dismissed on that ground but leaves the defendants free to pursue separate challenges under the Take Care and Vesting Clauses (U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. Sept. 1, 2026)).
Background. A physician brought the qui tam action in 2019 against her employer, Florida Medical Associates and related entities. She asserted that the companies knowingly submitted false diagnosis codes to obtain inflated Medicare payments. The federal government declined to intervene, leaving the physician to litigate the action on its behalf.
After several years of litigation, the companies challenged the FCA’s qui tam provisions under Article II. They argued that relators exercise significant federal enforcement authority without...
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