The False Claims Act: Get Paid to Expose Fraud & Unfair Competition, Protect Yourself from an Investigation
The False Claims Act (FCA) is a powerful federal anti-fraud law that incentivizes average people to expose fraud. The law attempts to reward whistleblowers and disincentivize committing fraud and can be used to expose customs fraud.
What is the False Claims Act?
The FCA, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 – 3733, is a federal statute enacted in 1863 in response to defense contractor fraud during the Civil War.
The FCA provides that any person who knowingly submits, or causes to submit, false claims to the government is liable for three times the government’s damages plus a penalty. Conspiring to commit these acts also is a violation of the FCA.
The FCA allows the U.S. government to investigate perpetrators of fraud directly, but it also provides an avenue for private citizens to become whistleblowers and expose fraud.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained more than $2.68 billion in settlements and judgments involving fraud and false claims in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023.
The FCA and International Trade
The FCA is commonly used to prosecute financial crime such as misuse of federal grants and healthcare related claims. However, in recent years the FCA has been increasingly used to allege customs duty fraud and other trade violations. In fact, in a 2020 report, the Department of Justice (DOJ) highlighted the use of the FCA to “safeguard American businesses and workers by promoting compliance with customs laws [and] trade agreements.”
The FCA can apply any time an individual or entity commits customs fraud – for example importers may […]