A False Claims Act case brought by the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC), a registered nonprofit organization, on behalf of the United States government has resulted in an historic settlement whereby the defendant, Westchester County, New York, has agreed to spend more than $50 million to create affordable housing opportunities in designated towns and villages and to market them to racial minorities.  The lawsuit, filed by the ADC in 2006, alleged that Westchester County had defrauded the federal government when it accepted tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for housing and community development projects that the County certified were in compliance with fair housing laws.  The settlement was reached following a judicial ruling that the County had indeed misled the government about its efforts to fulfill its legal obligations to take steps toward desegregating predominantly white communities.  This qui tam case is noteworthy for several reasons, including the fact that the plaintiff-relator is not an individual whistleblower in the traditional sense, but a nonprofit organization seeking to further the public interest.

A New York Times article on the settlement is available can be found by clicking here.