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The Department of Justice compiles statistics on cases involving the Federal False Claims Act. Since 1986 when new, non-retaliation amendments were passed, these statistics have shown a staggering increase in the effectiveness of the Act. For instance, the rise in Qui Tam cases, (in which a private citizen whistleblower made the actual allegations) has been enormous. In 1988, there were 60 cases, but by 1998 533 cases were filed and in 2004, 415 were filed. The U.S. government and individual relators (whistleblowers) are realizing both the massive amount of corruption in government contracting and the enormous amount of money that can be recovered by Qui Tam cases. For their part, whistleblowers have received almost $1.8 Billion in rewards since 1986. Of course, they have also done an invaluable service to the United States. Without these patriotic people, we would have wasted billions of dollars that could go to important programs, in areas such as defense, health care, national security and education.
Here are some other facts about the Federal False Claims Act from the Department of Justice:
1. From 1986 to 2006, over 2,800 cases involving the Department of Health and Human Services and over 1,500 cases involving the Department of Defense have been filed. In both Medicare/Medicaid and military spending, a huge amount of fraud exists, simply because of the billions being spent. But over 4,000 people have come forward in the last 20 years just to reveal fraud in these departments alone.
2. From 1988 to 2006, the amount of money in rewards whistleblowers received annually went up 1,681 times. In 1988, whistleblowers only made about $88,700. But in 2006, rewards for whistleblowers amounted to almost $150 million. Evidently, the potential for substantial monetary gains, as well as the number of people receiving this money, is huge and growing.
3. The U.S. government intervenes in about 1 out of every 3 cases. When the government chooses to intervene in a fraud case, there is a very good chance that the case will end favorably for the government and the whistleblower. From 1986 to 2006, the Federal government intervened in over 1,000 cases; of these, over 900 have been settled or went to judgment. Only 50 have been dismissed. The government typically investigates each False Claims Act case carefully and if they choose to work on it, their success rate is high
4. In 2006, there were 382 new Qui Tam matters. That is, there were 382 instances of fraud which the government wanted to pursue in 2006 alone. Again, the potential for uncovering these illegal actions is very high. In that year, the government recovered over $1.4 Billion and relators received $4.25 Million. This does not even include the damages and settlements from retaliatory actions by employers against the whistleblowing employees. |
