DOJ Reports Record Qui Tam Lawsuits in 2024 as False Claims Act Enforcement Rises

The U.S. Department of Justice documented a significant surge in False Claims Act enforcement during fiscal year 2024, reporting the highest number of qui tam actions ever filed in a single year. Whistleblowers initiated 979 lawsuits under the FCA, highlighting a dramatic increase in private enforcement actions.

While government-initiated enforcement cases decreased slightly from the previous year’s high, the overall trajectory continues to trend upward. Qui tam cases now represent approximately 70 percent of total FCA actions, reinforcing the critical role whistleblowers play in identifying potential fraud against the government.

The statistics reveal that FCA enforcement is expanding beyond traditional focus areas. Cases outside the military and healthcare sectors saw the most significant growth, accounting for 63 percent of all actions. This trend has persisted for the past three years and may reflect ongoing investigations into Paycheck Protection Program fraud and other pandemic-related misconduct.

Total settlements and judgments under the FCA exceeded $2.9 billion for the fiscal year, with more than $400 million awarded to whistleblowers who initiated the cases. Healthcare fraud remained the largest recovery category at $1.67 billion, representing 57 percent of all recoveries – though this percentage has declined from previous years.

Non-healthcare, non-military cases accounted for 39 percent of recoveries, totaling $1.1 billion. Military procurement cases represented just 3 percent of recovered funds at $93 million.

Qui tam actions continue to drive the majority of financial recoveries, with 83 percent of the $2.9 billion recovered in 2024 originating from whistleblower lawsuits. However, government intervention remains crucial to case success – 91 percent of qui tam recoveries came from cases where the Justice Department joined the action.

The declining value of non-intervened cases suggests whistleblowers face increasingly difficult odds when pursuing cases independently. The recovery percentage from relator-only cases has fluctuated significantly in recent years, dropping from 19 percent in 2021 to 60 percent in 2022, then to 28 percent in 2023, before plummeting further in 2024.

In the procurement fraud arena, the DOJ highlighted several significant cases involving cost and pricing issues and cybersecurity requirements. Notably, all the major procurement fraud cases originated as qui tam actions filed by former employees or individuals with knowledge of contract performance.

One notable case resulted in a $55.1 million judgment against a multinational software company following a four-week bench trial and decade of litigation. The court found the contractor had misrepresented its commercial sales practices during negotiations for a General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule contract, ultimately charging the government higher prices than warranted.

Another significant recovery came from a $70 million settlement with a major U.S. aerospace and defense contractor and its subcontractor. The companies allegedly overcharged the Navy for aircraft parts through an illegal “cost-plus-percentage-of-cost” arrangement, which included a fixed 32 percent markup on parts.

Cybersecurity requirements emerged as another enforcement priority, with the DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative gaining momentum. The Department joined a whistleblower suit against a university for allegedly failing to implement required cybersecurity controls on Defense Department contracts – the first litigation under the Cyber-Fraud Initiative.

Additionally, two settlements addressed inadequate protection of personal data obtained through pandemic-related government contracts. A staffing company paid $2.7 million for failing to implement adequate cybersecurity measures for COVID-19 contact tracing information, while a consulting company and its subcontractor paid $11.3 million after failing to perform required cybersecurity testing on a rental assistance application system.

With these enforcement trends likely to continue, government contractors must maintain vigilant compliance programs, particularly regarding pricing and cybersecurity requirements. The substantial settlements in these areas will likely trigger increased whistleblower activity in similar sectors throughout 2025 and beyond.