Fraud By The Numbers Series
-
How 9/11 Recovery Fraud Was Stopped
Twenty years ago, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks devastated the United States, and began one of the largest cleanup and recovery efforts of the modern era. On this anniversary, we are mindful that whenever federal, state, and local governments provide relief money to help victims recover, these efforts are often ripe targets for fraudsters.…
-
On National 401(k) Day, Remember the Role of Whistleblowers
Officially, today is National 401(k) day, but for approximately 60 million Americans who have such a plan and are relying on it for retirement, every day is 401(k) day. That’s 60 Million Americans with a reason to check the markets today. The 401(k) has played a big part in creating a generation of Americans who…
-
The Billions Lost to Healthcare Fraud
The Government Accountability Office reports that in fiscal year 2019, approximately $46.2 billion in improper payments were made in the Medicare program. And this may even be a conservative estimate! As we will discuss in a future post, other experts have opined that the amount lost to improper payments is two to three times the…
-
Let’s Dive Into Government-Funded Healthcare Programs
For the next few days, we are going to discuss one of the biggest sources of government spending: healthcare. In particular, we are going to drill down on numbers associated with Medicare, Medicaid, and other government-sponsored healthcare programs. The U.S. Government spent $1.3 trillion on Medicare in fiscal year 2020, making it by far the…
-
Looking at the Cost of Air Pollution on Clean Air Day
Today is September 7, recognized as Clean Air Day. Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and respiratory infections.[1] That is the population of Bulgaria,[2] Tennessee,[3] or Los Angeles and Chicago.[4] In addition to…
-
How Many Lawyers Are Involved in Prosecuting False Claims Act Cases?
Today, Labor Day, is an appropriate moment to review the work required and resources deployed to handle major fraud cases, such as those filed under the False Claims Act. Since a False Claims Act case is a filing with a court, we are going to analyze the number of lawyers involved in prosecuting False Claims…
-
False Claims Act Enforcement: $20 Returned for Every $1 Spent
The False Claims Act and the mechanism that incentivizes integrity by rewarding whistleblowers who come forward with information about fraud on the government, is a great investment. How good is the rate of return on investment? According to a study conducted by Jack A. Mayer, prepared for Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund in 2013 that…
-
Looking at $3.2 Trillion in State & Local Government Spending
In the United States, a substantial portion of government functions are carried out by state governments. In fiscal year 2019, the total amount of state government spending (including all 50 states and the District of Columbia) was about $1.5 trillion. This is about 7% of the U.S. GDP, less than the federal government’s 20% share…
-
How Much Do We Lose to Fraud?
-
Billions Are Lost to Fraud
Today we’re going to examine the relationship between government expenditures and the amount recovered under the False Claims Act. Examining reported numbers since Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, DOJ recoveries under the False Claims Act have remained relatively constant, ranging from $2 billion to $6 billion, while federal spending has been steadily increasing. In FY11, for…
