25 False Claims Act Facts

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The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Whistleblowers and their supporters are strongly urged to read this blog series and share it with friends. In addition, an Action Alert has been issued by the National Whistleblower Center so members of the public inform their representatives that the False Claims Act should not be “reformed” as proposed by the Chamber.

Fact Number 25:

In its historic and massive whistleblower rulemaking proceeding, the SEC came to the conclusion that a robust rewards system was essential to protect honest businesses and promote fair market competition.  After rejecting many of the proposals now being rehashed by the Chamber of Commerce to a different body, the SEC concluded:  …
Continue Reading The FCA Promotes Free and Fair Market Competition

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.”

The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected. Whistleblowers and their supporters are strongly urged to read this blog series and share it with friends.

Fact Number 24:

The Chamber’s claim that “any fine-print regulatory requirement” can result in FCA liability is patently false and misrepresents the FCA.    In the very first case cited to by the Chamber to justify its argument, the court was very careful to “caution” that liability under an implied certification theory cannot be interpreted “expansively and out of context.”  The court explained that the FCA “was not designed for use as a blunt instrument to enforce regulatory compliance,” and that law should not be interpreted in an “expansive fashion” that would “improperly broaden the Act’s reach.”   …
Continue Reading The FCA Does Not Permit Recovery for Violations of “Any Fine-Print Regulatory Requirement”

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected. Whistleblowers and their supporters are strongly urged to read this blog series and share it with friends.

Fact Number 23:

The Chamber of Commerce alleges that under the FCA, “courts have increasingly been willing to award the United States all amounts paid on a claim, without considering the actual out-of-pocket loss to the government and ignoring the benefits of goods and services that were received by the government.”…

Continue Reading The Chamber’s Proposal to Limit Recoveries to “ Net Actual Damages ” is Not Needed

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.”

The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Fact Number 22:

The Chamber argues that the penalty provisions of the FCA, which permit civil penalty awards from $5,500 to $11,000 per claim, should be removed.  Further, it claims that “courts have almost uniformly concluded that a penalty should be awarded for each false claim submitted, which can result in an award of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars for large number of law-dollar claims.”  …
Continue Reading The FCA’s Penalties Are Not Excessive

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Fact Number 21:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after engaging in the most comprehensive government review of whistleblower reward programs ever undertaken, rejected many of the same proposals now being rehashed by the Chamber.  In 2010-11 the SEC solicited thoughtful and well documented comments related to structuring a rewards program for securities-fraud whistleblowers. …
Continue Reading The Chamber Mischaracterized the SEC Rules for Whistleblowers

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Fact Number 20:

The Chamber urges Congress to make it far harder to prove fraud in government contracting.  The Chamber proposes to jettison the traditional requirement that the government should prove fraud by a “preponderance of evidence,” and instead wants to force the government to prove fraud by “clear and convincing” evidence. …
Continue Reading The Chamber’s Proposal to Make it Harder to Prove Fraud Was Refuted Years Ago by the Reagan Administration

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Whistleblowers and their supporters are strongly urged to read this blog series and share it with friends. In addition, an Action Alert has been issued by the National Whistleblower Center so members of the public inform their representatives that the False Claims Act should not be “reformed” as proposed by the Chamber.

Fact Number 19:

The Chamber argued on page 16 of their report that “under the current FCA a qui tam plaintiff who files suit after the defendant has already disclosed the same conduct to an agency Inspector General is entitled to proceed with the suit and receive a full bounty.” …
Continue Reading The Chamber’s Justification for Barring FCA Cases after Defendants Make a Disclosure to the Government Is a Green Light for Fraud

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Fact Number 18:

The Chamber proposed a blanket ban on the right of federal employees to use the FCA.  The problem with this approach is twofold.  First, in the nearly 30 years since the law was amended, federal employees have not used the law.  The few instances cited to by the Chamber resulted in either the dismissal of the claim or, in one case, a well deserved, modest recovery.  Of the billions and billions of dollars in fraud uncovered by whistleblowers under the FCA, the Chamber pointed to just one case in which a whistleblower obtained a modest reward of  $408,000. In that case the employee had reported the fraud for nearly four years prior to filing her claim.  She had reported it to managers, postal inspectors and the Inspector General.  This was not the case of an employee gaming the system.  It was the case of an employee trying to do the right thing. …
Continue Reading Barring Federal Employees from Using the FCA Will Promote Fraud

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Fact Number 17:

The Chamber’s report alleges that the FCA “incentivize[s] the filing of frivolous lawsuits” and “generates unnecessary litigation costs for government and businesses.” The report also implies that the over-filing of FCA claims is a problem as “litigation under the FCA has steadily increased.”

These claims are completely unsupported.  …
Continue Reading The False Claims Act Saves the Government Costs and Does Not Encourage Frivolous Complaints

The Chamber of Commerce has commenced a well-financed and aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine America’s most effective whistleblower law, the False Claims Act. To justify its anti-whistleblower campaign the Chamber published a report entitled, “Fixing the False Claims Act: the Case For Compliance-Focused Reforms.” The purpose of this blog series is to combat the Chamber’s misinformation, and explain why the False Claims Act must be protected.

Whistleblowers and their supporters are strongly urged to read this blog series and share it with friends. In addition, an Action Alert has been issued by the National Whistleblower Center so members of the public inform their representatives that the False Claims Act should not be “reformed” as proposed by the Chamber.

Fact Number 16:

The Chamber’s proposal that employees be compelled to report fraud to their bosses or  to corporate counsel managed compliance programs violates numerous Supreme Court precedents, fundamental public policies, and the Federal Obstruction of Justice statute.  …
Continue Reading Mandating That Whistleblowers Report Violations of Law Internally Constitutes an Obstruction of Justice