Editing False Claims Act of 1863 (section)

==History==
''[[Qui tam]]'' laws have history dating back to the [[Middle Ages]] in [[England]].  In 1318, King [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] offered one third of the penalty to the relator when the relator successfully sued government officials who moonlighted as wine merchants.<ref name=cdoyle>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40785.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104004043/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40785.pdf |archive-date=2009-11-04 |url-status=live|title=C. Doyle, writing for the Congressional Research Service (2009): "Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Related Federal Statutes"|access-date=Jul 23, 2020}}</ref>  The [[Maintenance and Embracery Act 1540]] of [[Henry VIII]] provided that [[common informer]]s could sue for certain forms of interference with the course of justice in legal proceedings that were concerned with the title to land.<ref>The Law Commission. Proposals to Abolish Certain Ancient Criminal Offences. HMSO. 1966. Paragraph 6(a) at page 4.</ref> This act is still in force today in the [[Republic of Ireland]], although in 1967 it was extinguished in England. The idea of a common informer bringing suit for damages to the Commonwealth was later brought to [[Massachusetts]], where "penalties for fraud in the sale of bread [are] to be distributed one third to inspector who discovered the fraud and the remainder for the benefit of the town where the offense occurred."<ref name=cdoyle/>  Other statutes can be found on the colonial law books of [[Connecticut]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Virginia]] and [[South Carolina]].<ref name=cdoyle/>

The [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865) was marked by fraud on all levels, both in the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] north and the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] south. During the war, unscrupulous contractors sold the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union Army]] decrepit horses and mules in ill health, faulty rifles and ammunition, and rancid rations and provisions, among other unscrupulous actions.<ref>{{cite web|first=Larry D. |last=Lahman|title= "Bad Mules: A Primer on the Federal False Claims Act", 76 Okla. B. J. 901, 901 (2005) |url=https://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article1590.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202202046/http://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article1590.pdf |archive-date=2010-02-02 |url-status=live|work=michbar.org}}</ref> In response, Congress passed the False Claims Act on March 2, 1863, {{USStat|12|696}}.<ref>{{ussc|name=Hubbard v. United States|volume=514|page=695|pin=704|year=1995}}.</ref> Because it was passed under the administration of President [[Abraham Lincoln]], the False Claims Act is sometimes referred to as the "Lincoln Law".<ref name=whistleblowingprotection>{{cite web | url=http://www.whistleblowingprotection.org/?q=node/69 | title=Qui Tam A History | publisher=Whistleblower Info | access-date=2012-01-23 }}</ref>

Importantly, a reward was offered in what is called the ''[[qui tam]]'' provision, which permits citizens to sue on behalf of the government and be paid a percentage of the recovery. ''Qui tam'' is an abbreviated form of the Latin legal phrase ''qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur'' ("he who brings a case on behalf of our lord the King, as well as for himself")<ref name=Vermont>{{ussc|name=Vt. Agency of Natural Res. v. United States ex rel. Stevens|volume=529|page=765}}, 769 n.1 (2000).</ref> In a ''qui tam'' action, the citizen filing suit is called a "relator".<ref>("A ‘relator’ is ‘[a] party in interest who is permitted to institute a proceeding in the name of the People or the Attorney General when the right to sue resides solely in that official.’ Black's Law Dictionary 1289 (6th ed. 1990).")</ref><ref>A relator is one who relates the fraud action on behalf of the Government. See {{cite court |litigants=United States ex rel. Karvelas v. Melrose-Wakefield Hosp. |vol=360 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=220 |pinpoint=226 n.7 |court=[[1st Cir.]] |date=2004 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/360/220/484199/ |access-date=2018-11-08 }}</ref>  As an exception to the general legal rule of [[standing (law)|standing]], courts have held that ''qui tam'' relators are "partially assigned" a portion of the government's legal injury, thereby allowing relators to proceed with their suits.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1537749|title=The King and I?: An Examination of the Interest Qui Tam Relators Represent and the Implications for Future False Claims Act Litigation|first=Nathan|last=Sturycz|ssrn=1537749|access-date=Jul 23, 2020|journal=St. Louis University Public Law Review|volume=28|issue=459|year=2009|via=papers.ssrn.com}}</ref>

[[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] [[Jacob M. Howard]], who sponsored the legislation, justified giving rewards to whistle blowers, many of whom had engaged in unethical activities themselves. He said, "I have based the [''qui tam'' provision] upon the old-fashioned idea of holding out a temptation, and ‘setting a rogue to catch a rogue,’ which is the safest and most expeditious way I have ever discovered of bringing rogues to justice."<ref>''Vt. Agency of Natural Res. v. United States ex rel. Stevens'', 529 U.S. at 769 n.1; see also {{cite news|title=When Bad Things Happen to Good Rogues|url=https://psmag.com/news/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-rogues-11512|newspaper=Pacific Standard|access-date=29 August 2013}}</ref>

In the massive military spending leading up to and during [[World War II]], the [[United States Attorney General|US Attorney General]] relied on criminal provisions of the law to deal with fraud, rather than using the FCA.  As a result, attorneys would wait for the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] to file criminal cases and then immediately file civil suits under the FCA, a practice decried as "parasitic" at the time.  Congress moved to abolish the FCA but at the last minute decided instead to reduce the relator's share of the recovered proceeds.<ref name=Helmer/>{{rp|1267–1271}}<ref name=CongResServ>Charles Doyle, Senior Specialist in American Public Law, for the Congressional Research Service. August 6, 2009 [http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40785.pdf Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Related Federal Statutes]</ref>{{rp|6}}

The law was again amended in 1986, again due to issues with military spending. Under President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s military buildup, reports of massive fraud among military contractors had become major news, and Congress acted to strengthen the FCA.<ref name=Helmer>James B. Helmer Jr., [http://scholarship.law.uc.edu/uclr/vol81/iss4/3 False Claims Act: Incentivizing Integrity for 150 Years for Rogues, Privateers, Parasites and Patriots] 81 U. Cin. L. Rev.(2013)</ref>{{rp|1271–77}}

The first qui tam case under the amended False Claims Act was filed in 1987 by an eye surgeon against an eye clinic and one of its doctors, alleging unnecessary surgeries and other procedures were being performed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.phillipsandcohen.com/first-qui-tam-false-claims-act-whistleblower-dr-paul-michelson/|title=First Qui Tam (False Claims Act) Whistleblower, Dr. Paul Michelson|date=December 27, 2016|website=Phillips & Cohen}}</ref> The case settled in 1988 for a total of $605,000. However, the law was primarily used in the beginning against [[defense contractor]]s. By the late 1990s, [[health care fraud]] began to receive more focus, accounting for approximately 40% of recoveries by 2008<ref name=Helmer/>{{rp|1271}}   ''[[Franklin v. Parke-Davis]]'', filed in 1996, was the first case to apply the FCA to fraud committed by a pharma company against the government, due to bills submitted for payment by [[Medicaid]]/[[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] for treatments that those programs do not pay for as they are not FDA-approved or otherwise listed on a government formulary. FCA cases against pharma companies are often related to [[off-label]] marketing of [[pharmaceutical drug|drugs]] by drug companies, which is illegal under a different law, the [[Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act]]; the intersection occurs when off-label marketing leads to prescriptions being filled and bills for those prescriptions being submitted to Medicare/Medicaid.<ref>Joseph JN, et al. [http://www.postschell.com/site/files/415.pdf Enforcement Related to Off-Label Marketing and Use of Drugs and Devices: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304221444/http://www.postschell.com/site/files/415.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }} Journal of Health & Life Sciences Law 2(2):73-108.  January 2009</ref>

As of 2019, over 72% of all federal FCA actions were initiated by whistleblowers.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=Hesch>{{cite journal|author=Joel D Hesch|url=http://www.cooley.edu/lawreview/_docs/2012/vol29/2/Hesch.pdf|title= Breaking the Siege: Restoring Equity and Statutory Intent to the Process of Determining ''Qui Tam'' Relator Awards Under the False Claims Act|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210431/http://www.cooley.edu/lawreview/_docs/2012/vol29/2/Hesch.pdf|archive-date=2015-09-23|journal=Thomas M. Cooley Law Review|volume=29|issue=2|pages=217–283|date=2012}}</ref>{{rp|229}} The government recovered $62.1 billion under the False Claims Act between 1987 and 2019 and of this amount, over $44.7 billion or 72% was from ''qui tam'' cases brought by relators.<ref name=":1" /> In 2014, whistleblowers filed over 700 False Claims Act lawsuits.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mahany|first1=Brian|title=Mortgage Servicers and the Need for Whistleblowers|url=http://www.natlawreview.com/article/mortgage-servicers-and-need-whistleblowers|access-date=2 March 2015|work=The National Law Review|publisher=Mahany Law|date=26 February 2015}}</ref> In 2014, the Department of Justice had its highest annual recovery in False Claims Act history, obtaining more than $6.1 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government.<ref name=":1" /> In fiscal year 2019, the Department of Justice recovered over $3 billion under the False Claims Act, $2.2 billion of which were generated by whistleblowers. Since 2010, the federal government has recovered over $37.6 billion in False Claims Act settlements and judgments.<ref name=":1" /> In 2020, the DOJ recovered $2.2 billion from FCA cases: $1.6 billion of that total was from cases filed under the FCA.<ref name="False Claims Act Whistleblowers Help DOJ Recover $1.6 Billion in 2020">{{cite web |last1=Kostyack |first1=Ben |title=False Claims Act Whistleblowers Help DOJ Recover $1.6 Billion in 2020 |url=https://kkc.com/blog/false-claims-act-whistleblowers-help-doj-recover-1-6-billion-in-2020/ |website=Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto |date=15 January 2021 |access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> ''Qui tam'' whistleblowers received a total of $309 million in whistleblower rewards in 2020.<ref name="False Claims Act Whistleblowers Help DOJ Recover $1.6 Billion in 2020" />