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The False Claims Act is the government’s principal tool for addressing fraud in contracting, healthcare, mortgage lending, and grant administration. FCA Now provides timely developments about the law, enforcement trends, and other insights from Dorsey’s proven FCA litigators.

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Author: Eric Weisenburger

Eric is a trial associate in Dorsey’s office in Minneapolis. He represents clients in complex and high-stakes commercial litigation and government contracting matters. His government contracting practice includes helping clients navigate the Federal Acquisition Regulations, False Claims Act, and claims against the United States.

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Enforcement / Procedure / Relators / Scienter

10 Aug, 2023

Supreme Court’s Recent Decision on FCA’s Scienter Standard Potentially Raises Threshold for Government to Establish “Reckless Disregard”

On June 1, 2023, a unanimous Supreme Court decision sought to clarify the meaning of “scienter” in the FCA context, which deals with the defendant’s knowledge (or lack thereof) that a claim for payment was false and intent to submit the false claim.  See United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., 143 S. Ct. 1391 (2023) (“SuperValu”).  There, the Court ruled that “[f]or scienter,...

COVID-19 / Enforcement / Healthcare / Penalties / PPP Loans / Settlements

19 Jan, 2021

Justice Department Annual Release Shows Decreased FCA Recoveries But Increased FCA Matters in FY2020, Suggesting Likely Uptick in 2021

On January 14, 2021, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued its annual press release highlighting its recoveries from False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement over the last fiscal year.  Total recoveries in FY2020 exceeded $2.2 billion, with the majority—$1.8 billion—of those recoveries coming from the healthcare industry.  These totals are down substantially from FY2019, in which total recoveries exceeded $3 billion with $2.6 billion...

COVID-19 / PPP Loans / Settlements

14 Jan, 2021

Borrowers and Banks Beware: The New Year Brings the Nation’s First False Claims Act Settlement for Paycheck Protection Program Fraud

On January 12, 2021, the Eastern District of California entered into a civil settlement with a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) borrower and its CEO to resolve allegations of fraud.  The settlement stemmed from a $350,000 PPP loan that SlideBelts Inc., an internet retail company, received even though it was a prohibited borrower as a debtor in bankruptcy.  This is the first civil settlement for PPP-related...

COVID-19 / Enforcement

14 Apr, 2020

Looking Ahead: Enforcement Actions for Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Related to COVID-19

As the public health and economic responses to COVID-19 dominate the headlines and traditional government enforcement actions slow, anticipate a significant increase in government enforcement actions, internal investigations related to corporate fraud, and qui tam (whistleblower) actions in the coming months.  The CARES Act contains appropriations for tens of millions of dollars for agency inspector general enforcement.  Leaders in federal law enforcement are telling us...