The False Claims Act was enacted in 1863 in an effort to root out fraud and corruption during the Civil War. Since then, it has become a vital tool for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to recover taxpayer money from companies and individuals who defraud the government.
In the 2021 fiscal year, the DOJ recovered more than $1.6 billion from qui tam whistleblower lawsuits that were filed under the False Claims Act. The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act enable private citizens to file lawsuits on behalf of the U.S. government if they have knowledge of an individual or company defrauding the government. Under these provisions, qui tam whistleblowers can be eligible for 15-30% of the amount the government recovers in a settlement. Additionally, there are no caps on rewards for qui tam whistleblowers: according to whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, “the value of the information the whistleblower provides serves as the basis for the amount of the award.”
At the end of January 2022, the DOJ announced two False Claims Act settlements, both of which stemmed from qui tam whistleblower suits. Read more about the cases below.
On January 28, U.S. Attorney Richard G. Frohling announced that Hayat Pharmacy, an operator of “23 pharmacy locations in the greater Milwaukee area,” will pay $2,050,000 to resolve allegations “that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for prescription medications.” Allegedly, Hayat Pharmacy “submitted false...
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