by Ben Vernia | February 9th, 2023
Under the False Claims Act, after a whistleblower files a complaint, the Government investigates and then has the option to intervene in the case (and litigate it), or decline to do so– in which case the whistleblower may carry it forward on his or her own.
The Department of Justice announced False Claims Act results on February 7, and the statistics provided make clear that for the first time, whistleblowers recovered more for the Government in the fiscal year ended last September 30 than did the Department, in the cases qui tam cases in which it intervened. The following chart draws from DOJ’s reported numbers in qui tam cases (it omits recoveries obtained in cases initiated by the Government itself, and not through a whistleblower’s complaint).
