by Ben Vernia | November 22nd, 2010
The Department of Justice announced on November 22 that in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010 (FY 2010), the government obtained settlements or judgments under the False Claims Act for $3 billion. (This amount excludes criminal and administrative recoveries.)
The bulk of the government’s success this year was in the area of pharmaceuticals, accounting for just over half, at $1.6 billion. This included, however, the civil portion of the Pfizer settlement which was announced in September, 2009, but paid after the start of FY 2010. Other heath care cases contributed an additional $700 million to the total.
Qui tam, or whistleblower cases accounted for $2.3 billion of the total, and whistleblowers received a combined $385 million in rewards.
The Department also highlighted its efforts in defense procurement fraud relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a subtle jab at the Bush Administration, the Department noted that since January, 2009 (i.e., President Obama’s inauguration), the government recovered nearly $115 million of the total $137 million total relating to these conflicts.
Under a more catch-all category of “financial fraud,” including “mortgage fraud, non-war related procurement fraud, and fraud involving the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other economic stimulus funds,” the Department reported that it had recovered approximately $327 million.