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By: Ilene Albala, Gregory Demske, Allan Medina, Kirk Ogrosky, Maura Friedlander, Jordan L. Moran, from American law firm Goodwin Proctor.
2023 was another record year for False Claims Act enforcement. On February 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the federal government and whistleblowers were party to a record number of FCA settlements and judgments in Fiscal Year 2023. Of the $2.68 billion recovered, more than $1.8 billion related to matters involving the healthcare industry.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, who oversees DOJ's Civil Division, touted DOJ's record year in remarks that he delivered at the 2024 Federal Bar Association's Qui Tam Conference. Speaking to relators' counsel and the defense bar, Boynton observed that DOJ had been incredibly busy in 2023. The Department had begun investigating 712 qui tam lawsuits, and it had set another record by opening more than 500 new non-qui tam investigations.
After touting DOJ's recent successes, Boynton previewed the Department's enforcement priorities for 2024: (1) cybersecurity, (2) pandemic-related fraud, and (3) healthcare fraud. Boynton noted that "since the early 2000s, healthcare has consistently been the largest area of enforcement and recovery under the False Claims Act."
Boynton noted four areas of focus for the Department within healthcare. The first three were the "the use of financial inducements to generate referrals...................... To view our full article Click here
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