Born in Civil War scandal—contractors selling the Union Army mules instead of horses and sawdust instead of gunpowder—the federal False Claims Act (FCA) has become the government’s most powerful civil weapon against fraud. Over the past decade alone, it has recovered an average of $3 billion annually for taxpayers. This course examines the FCA’s origins, structure, and modern enforcement, including its distinctive qui tam provisions. These provisions allow whistleblowers to step into the government’s shoes as “private attorneys general,” pursuing fraud claims and sharing in the recovery, sometimes earning substantial rewards. The result is a unique public-private enforcement system that drives both accountability and controversy.
The FCA reaches deep into the economy, shaping compliance across health care, defense, cybersecurity, education, international trade, and any other sector touching federal funds. Its whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections also make it essential law for employment practitioners. Despite being a single statute, the FCA has generated a large and evolving body of case law, with frequent Supreme Court and appellate decisions. Its success has inspired “mini-FCAs” across states, local governments, and abroad, and helped spark whistleblower reward programs in securities, tax, anti-corruption, and other enforcement areas. The course will examine the policy choices embedded in the FCA, and the often different choices made in other whistleblower programs.
Strawn, Susan L. 