What are the standards for proving fraud under the False Claims Act?
Young: When you are talking, for example, about cases involving the valuation of financial instruments, that kind of issue can involve such extraordinary and fundamental levels of judgment that proving fraud can be very difficult – and it should be, because fraudulent conduct may not in fact have been involved. So is some fraud easy to prove? Sometimes, but a lot of times it can be more difficult. Girgenti: Criminal liability might not even involve the necessity to prove a fraud. It’s sufficient, and very often easier, for the government to prove that there was a falsification of a material fact simply by pointing to a false statement on an application for federal moneys or maybe on a survey that SIGTARP sends out to all financial institutions. The government does not have to prove a fraud. It has to prove that there was a knowing false statement – and in some instances that can be a much easier path to criminal liability. Many states have also passed false claims acts. False claims ac
