When it comes to false claims cases, the federal False Claims Act tends to be the first thing attorneys think of. That may be because the federal statute tends to get a lot of publicity — with good reason. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), it secured more than $5.6 billion in False Claims Act settlements and judgments in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2021. Since 1986, when Congress strengthened the federal False Claims Act by providing more attractive incentives for whistleblowers, the DOJ has secured more than $70 billion in settlements and judgments.
While the federal False Claims Act has long enjoyed the spotlight, it might need to get used to sharing it more often. State attorneys general are increasingly taking advantage of their states’ false claims statutes, which provide them great power as sovereigns to hold individuals and corporate entities accountable for allegedly defrauding their states’ governments. These historically overlooked state statutes are finally getting their days in the sun, despite many of them having become, effectively, dead letter laws that were seemingly ignored — or at least underappreciated — for years by state attorneys general.
A recent uptick in state false claims prosecutions suggests that state attorneys general are expanding their toolbox by reacquainting themselves with the power their state false claims statutes provide them to pursue alleged wrongdoers. Although state attorneys general have in the past...
Kolkata: Kolkata Police has been grappling with a fresh challenge since the past week — controlling fake news. While it initially started with fake circulars, beginning with "restrictions" on cert...