DOJ Reports $4.7 Billion in False Claims Act Recoveries for Fiscal Year 2016

The Department of Justice announced that civil False Claims Act settlements and judgments exceeded $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2016, making it the third-highest annual total in FCA history. Defense and healthcare contractors accounted for the largest share, with the total bringing cumulative FCA recoveries since 1986 to more than $31.3 billion. The announcement highlighted that the Inspector General community returned approximately $20 for every dollar invested in fraud enforcement, and that whistleblower-initiated qui tam cases accounted for the majority of all FCA recoveries that year.