The United States Dept. of Justice recovered a record $3.1 billion in settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006. This total topped the previous high of $2.2 billion for fiscal year 2003.
Two settlements, involving Tenet Healthcare Corp. and the Boeing Co., comprised nearly half the total.
Since the amendments to the False Claims Act in 1986, the Justice Dept. has recovered $18 billion in cases of fraud against the government.
In its November 21, 2006 press release the Dept. of Justice said that government-initiated claims accounted for $1.8 billion of the total $3.1 billion, while suits brought by whistle blowers under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions accounted for the remaining $1.3 billion.
In FY 2006, whistleblowers were awarded $190 million.