2022 was an interesting year in False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement and case law developments – from uncertainty emanating from escalating circuit splits to low recoveries for the Department of Justice (DOJ). Looking ahead, 2022 may prove to be the calm before the storm.
With Supreme Court decisions due in two FCA cases this summer, the government litigating intervened cases involving complex FCA theories involving the Medicare Advantage program, FCA amendments pending again in Congress, and a likely backlog of pending settlements, 2023 already looks like a year to watch. Below are some predictions, expectations, and developments related to FCA enforcement that we will be closely watching in 2023.
On one level, we expect pandemic-related fraud to continue to be an enforcement focus in 2023. According to available sources, the government has determined that fraud on the pandemic relief programs was rampant. While many of the cases pursued to date tend to be smaller dollar cases, some involve high-profile actors – like a publicized investigation of a former National Football League (NFL) star pending in Mississippi – and the initiative DOJ launched to pursue them is honing the skills of DOJ’s trial attorneys, Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs), and data analysts across the country. Of course, these skills are transferable to other sectors of public spending. Significantly, DOJ’s COVID work reflects the Department’s increasing use of data analytics to generate leads...
Times of Malta's editorial team has demanded that alleged money-launderer Chris Spiteri remove false claims posted on Facebook against journalist Jacob Borg. An alert has also been filed with the ...