The False Claims Act (FCA), also called the “Lincoln Law“, is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs. It is the federal government’s primary litigation tool in combating fraud against the government. The law includes a qui tam provision that allows people who are not affiliated with the government, called “relators” under the law, to file actions on behalf of the government. This is informally called “whistleblowing”, especially when the relator is employed by the organization accused in the suit. Persons filing actions under the Act stand to receive a portion (15–30%, depending on certain factors) of any recovered damages.
“In short, sir,” argued Sen. Jacob Howard, the chief proponent of the law in 1863, “I have based the [qui tam provision] upon the old-fashioned idea of holding out a temptation, and ‘setting a rogue to catch a rogue,’ which is the safest and most expeditious way I have ever discovered of bringing rogues to justice.”
The FCA provided that any person who knowingly submitted false claims to the government was liable for double the government’s damages plus a penalty of $2,000 for each false claim. The FCA has been amended several times and now provides that violators are liable for treble damages plus a penalty that is linked to inflation.
Sources:
- December 31, 2011. United States: Congress: House of Representatives: Office of the Law Revision Counsel. “False Claims. Sec. 3729.” In MONEY AND FINANCE. Title 31, 2011th ed. U.S. Government Publishing Office.
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2011-title31/USCODE-2011-title31-subtitleIII-chap37-subchapIII-sec3729.
Government. - February 2, 2022. “The False Claims Act.” The United States Department of Justice.
https://www.justice.gov/civil/false-claims-act.
Government. - False Claims. 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 – 3733. United States Code, 2006 Edition, Supplement 5, Title 31-MONEY AND FINANCE.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title31/pdf/USCODE-2011-title31-subtitleIII-chap37-subchapIII-sec3729.pdf.
Government, PDF. - March 28, 2010. Ken Stier. “Setting A Rogue To Catch A Rogue.” Pacific Standard.
https://psmag.com/news/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-rogues-11512.
General Website Link. - “HOWARD, Jacob Merritt.” Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000839.
Government. - “False Claims Act.” In Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=False_Claims_Act.
Reference.