November 06, 2007
The United States Dept. of Justice announced that it obtained $2 billion in settlements in fraud cases during fiscal year 2007, with most of the recoveries resulting from whistleblower lawsuits.
The whistleblower lawsuits resulted in $1.45 billion in settlements. The whistleblowers received a total of $177 million as their “relator’s share.” The False Claims Act, which allows private individuals with knowledge of fraud against the government to file suit on the government’s behalf, provides for a reward to the whistleblower, usually between 15 and 30 percent.
The DOJ statistics were reported in the Houston Chronicle of November 1, 2007.