Federal False Claims Act Recoveries Cross The $30 Billion Mark
According to new statistics released by the Department of Justice, the U.S. government recovered $30.3 billion pursuant to the federal False Claims Act between 1987 and 2011. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, 762 new FCA cases were initiated, consisting of 638 qui tam actions and 124 cases initiated by the United States without the aid of a relator.
More FCA cases were commenced in 2011 than ever before and recoveries amounted to $3.03 billion in 2011, slightly less than the $3.09 recovered in 2010. Of the $3.03 billion recovered in 2011:
- $2.64 billion was recovered in matters in which the government intervened;
- $148 million was recovered in cases in which the government declined intervention; and
- $241 million was recovered in actions initiated by the United States.
As mentioned previously here, it is expected that FCA recoveries will reach a staggering $9 billion in 2012, due in large part to several possible settlements with pharmaceutical manufacturers hovering near, or exceeding, a billion dollars. Last week, it was reported that a one billion dollar settlement had been reached between a drug manufacturer and the U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia concerning the marketing practices for a former blockbuster antipsychotic drug.
