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We have talked about the False Claims Act several times before. In many cases, but not all, the FCA rewards people who rat out their bosses with a fat reward. There are many examples of this, but recently Booz Allen agreed to pay a $377 million penalty for improper billing to the government. The person who ratted them out (and their attorney) got about $75 million. BIG incentive.
But there are gaps when the law doesn’t provide for a whistleblower reward.
So, last month Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that the DoJ is creating an “incentive” program for whistleblowers who are not covered by the FCA. DAG Monaco said that the current incentive process is too much of a patchwork and that whistleblowing helps the government recover billions of dollars a year from companies who are stealing money from the government.
The details of the program will come out in the next few months and there are some caveats like if the whistleblower participated in the criminal activity, they are not eligible for an incentive.
This is, the DoJ says, another reason for companies to voluntarily come clean.
Credit: Mintz law firm