Whistleblower legislation pays, 2007 - Government recovered $2 Billion in Fraud cases
The Justice Department reported this week that in Fiscal Year 2007, it recovered $2 billion in settlements in fraud cases. We are happy to report that most of the recoveries resulted from whistleblower lawsuits. The individuals who filed suit were awarded $177 million. Health care fraud accounted for the bulk of the settlements, with $1.54 billion stemming from cases involving programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers can sue companies or individuals that they believe have filed fraudulent claims with the federal government. If successful, they can receive up to 30 percent of the proceeds of what the government recovers.
Let's hope that the legislation for Whistleblower Protections continue to be strengthened. This will encourage more Whistleblowers to come forward and report fraud against the government.
Click here to read more from the Associated Press Article.
