Law Commons^™

Restating The "Original Source Exception" To The False Claims Act's “Public Disclosure Bar”, Joel D. Hesch

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The False Claims Act (FCA) is the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) primary litigative tool to combat fraud under federal government programs, including as Medicare and the military. The FCA provides for triple damages and civil penalties. It also contains a unique qui tam provision, which allows a whistleblower, known as a “relator,” to file a FCA lawsuit on behalf of the government and receive a share of 15-25% in the recovery. The DOJ has recovered $20 billion under the FCA from companies cheating the government, and has paid out over $2 billion in citizen rewards. The FCA contains a “public …