A Summary of 2017 False Claims Act Statistics
Fiscal Year 2017 was a very good year for the False Claims Act, even if total recoveries fell behind those tallied in Fiscal Years 2012, 2014, and 2016. View the summary of 2017 FCA Statistics here.
In FY 2017, more than $3.7 billion in settlements and judgments were recovered under the federal civil False Claims Act. This number reflects only recoveries of federal funds, and does not include the large sums collected for state Medicaid programs, or criminal penalties associated with False Claims Act cases.
Of the $3.7 billion recovered to the federal government in False Claims Act settlements and judgments in fiscal year 2017, $3.4 billion was recovered in whistleblower-initiated qui tam lawsuits. Over $898 million was collected in False Claims Act cases where DOJ declined to intervene. The U.S. Department of Justice collected $265.5 million in all direct-filed cases. Of the $3.7 billion, $2.4 billion was recovered in health care cases. This is the eighth consecutive year that FCA health care fraud settlements and judgments have exceeded $2 billion. The largest recoveries in FY 2017 were in the drug and medical device industries.
Notable healthcare recoveries include:
Mylan Pharmaceuticals paid $465 million to resolve allegations it underpaid rebates by erroneously classifying its EpiPen product.
Life Care Centers of America Inc. agreed to pay $145 million to settle allegations it billed for skilled nursing facilities that were not reasonable, necessary, or skilled.
eClinicalWorks (ECW), a national electronic health records software vendor, paid $155 million to resolve allegations it falsely obtained certification for its software by concealing that the product did not actually comply with certification requirements.
Shire Pharmaceuticals paid $350 million to resolve allegations involving kickbacks associated with a bioengineered human skin substitute.
Other major fraud cases:
Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation and Allied Home Mortgage Corporation violated the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and paid over $296 million.
PHH Mortgage and Financial Freedom settled FCA mortgage fraud cases for $74 million and $89 million, respectively.
Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC, a Kuwaiti company that was allegedly price-gouging the U.S. government for food supplied to U.S. soldiers in Kuwait and Iraq, paid $95 million to resolve a whistleblower-initiated False Claims Act case, and also agreed to forgo claims against the United States for $249 million for military food contracts.
Bechtel National Inc. and subsidiaries agreed to pay $125 million to settle a False Claims Act case alleging the company charged the Department of Energy for deficient materials, services, and testing, and improperly used federal contract funds to pay for a multi-year campaign to lobby Congress and other federal officials.
CA Inc. agreed to pay $45 million to resolve an FCA case alleging it overcharged the General Services Administration for software licenses and maintenance services.
