Department of Justice Announces Record Breaking Year for False Claim Act Cases & Settlements

by Anna D’Agostino and Laura Twizere

On January 16th, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released the False Claims Act report for the 2025 fiscal year. The report spotlights that settlements and judgments under the False Claim Act exceeded $6.8 billion, the highest amount in a single year since the history of the False Claims Act. This was largely due to the record-breaking number of qui tam lawsuits, also known as whistleblower actions, filed. The 1,1297 qui tam suits filed in 2025 broke the previous record of 980 qui tam suits, set in 2024.

The Role of Qui Tam Actions

The “qui tam” provision is a critical component of the False Claim Act. Qui tam is derived from the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur,” which means “who sues on behalf of the King as well as for himself.” This provision authorizes private citizen whistleblowers, referred to as “relators,” to bring lawsuits against parties who have defrauded the federal government. Relators then prosecute the lawsuit on the government’s behalf.

The number of qui tam lawsuits has consistently increased over the years. In the past fiscal year, there were more than three times as many qui tam cases filed than non qui tam cases filed.

This increase may be attributable to the government’s efforts to encourage qui tam litigation. Recognizing the essential fraud recovery services qui tam relators provide, Congress strengthened whistleblower protections and increased incentives for whistleblowers to file lawsuits on the government’s behalf in 2009 through the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. And there are meaningful incentives to serving as a relator: in addition to exposing harmful fraudulent practices, when a qui tam suit is successful, the whistleblower receives a portion of the recovery ranging between 15 and 30 percent. 2025’s record-breaking number of qui tam cases filed came with record-breaking qui tam settlements and judgments, totaling $ 5.3 billion, and relators’ share awards over $330 million.

Key Areas of Fraud Enforcement

In announcing the record-breaking year, the DOJ reiterated its commitment to combatting fraud in matters involving the government’s purchase of goods and services for healthcare, contracting, and trade purposes. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche affirmed that “stopping rampant fraud is a top priority, and this record-breaking year proves the False Claims Act remains one of the government’s most powerful weapons against fraud.”
<h2″>Healthcare Fraud

Healthcare fraud continues to be the leading source of False Claims Act settlements and judgements. Over 80% of the settlements and judgments reported this past fiscal year involved the healthcare industry, accounting for $5.7 billion. False Claims Act recoveries in the healthcare sector restore funds to federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. More importantly, these actions help protect patients from medically unnecessary or potentially harmful conduct.

The DoJ also pursued false claims actions involving managed care, prescription drugs, unnecessary services, and substandard care. Miller Shah helped secure an important judgment in the prescription drugs category this past summer, winning a $95 million verdict against Caremark after a federal judge found the pharmacy benefits manager liable for overcharging for generic drugs provided to Medicare beneficiaries.

Procurement, Loan, and Grant Fraud

FCA cases involving government contract fraud cases saw a dramatic increase over prior years. In the military procurement category, the DoJ had its second-largest procurement fraud case in history against Raytheon. The defense contractor will pay $428 million to settle allegations that it knowingly failed to provide truthful certified cost and pricing data during negotiations on numerous government contracts between 2009 to 2020.

Other common areas for government contract fraud cases this past year involved violation of critical cybersecurity requirements and misuse of pandemic relief program funds.

Trade Fraud

2025 also saw the government increase its efforts to combat tariff and customs avoidance. To this end, the DoJ launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenues, threatens domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security.

These efforts focused on misrepresentation of type of good imported or country of origin to evade duties. For example, the DoJ’s $12.4 million settlement with Allied Stone Inc. and its president, Jia “Jerry” Lim, resolved allegations that Allied Stone evaded custom duties on quartz surface products imported from the People’s Republic of China by mislabeling the goods as products subject to lesser duties.

Record Results Signal Continued Whistleblower Growth

This past year’s record results underscore the strong commitment of both private citizen whistleblowers and the government to pursuing False Claim Act case. The staggering increase of qui tam cases in the past fiscal year and their settlements and judgments set the stage for even more whistleblower cases in the future. Overall, the DOJ’s 2025 False Claims Act report reinforces that the government is dedicated to safeguarding taxpayer funds and recognizing those who help expose fraud.