The Department of Justice announced today that it recovered more than $3.5 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in FY 2015.  The DOJ stated that this is the fourth year in a row that more than $3.5 billion has been recovered in cases filed under the False Claims Act, and brings total recoveries from January 2009 to Sept 30 2015 to $26.4 billion.

“The False Claims Act has again proven to be the government’s most effective civil tool to ferret out fraud and return billions to taxpayer-funded programs,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The recoveries announced today help preserve the integrity of vital government programs that provide health care to the elderly and low income families, ensure our national security and defense, and enable countless Americans to purchase homes.”

Of the $3.5 billion, $1.9 billion was recovered in cases involving health care fraud. (This reflects federal losses only.  Millions of dollars more were recovered for consumers and state Medicaid programs.)  Settlements and judgments in cases alleging false claims for payment under government contracts, including the military, totaled $1.1 billion.

The Department of Justice added that most of the $3.5B recovered ($2.8B) came from cases filed under the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Whistleblowers filed 638 qui tam suits in fiscal year 2015. Whistleblower awards during this period totaled $597 million.