What is the False Claims Act & Why is it Important?
The False Claims Act is the single most important tool U.S. taxpayers have to recover the billions of dollars stolen through fraud by U.S. government contractors every year. Under the False Claims Act those who knowingly submit, or cause another person or entity to submit, false claims for payment of government funds are liable for three times the government s damages plus civil penalties of $5,500 to $11,000 per false claim. The False Claims Act explicitly excludes tax fraud, but there are other laws that deal with tax fraud. Qui TamWhistleblower Provisions The False Claims Act contains qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions. Qui tam is a unique mechanism in the law that allows citizens with evidence of fraud against government contracts and programs to sue, on behalf of the government, in order to recover the stolen funds. In compensation for the risk and effort of filing a qui tam case, the citizen whistleblower or “relator” may be awarded a portion of the funds recovered, typically
