Halunen Law Attorney Susan M. Coler shares perspectives with Bloomberg Law News on record FCA claims in 2023

March 14th, 2024

Bloomberg Law News recently called upon Attorney Susan Coler’s extensive experience and deep understanding of the False Claims Act law to provide comments for its article, “Pandemic Fraud Fueled Record Year for False Claims Act Lawsuits.”

Coler stated, “The ‘frightening truth’ is that the No. 1 source of FCA settlements and judgments was fraud in the health-care industry,” adding, “This is “an area of our lives where certainty and trust are paramount, but fraud is ubiquitous.”

The article cites the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent report, which announced that the U.S. government and whistleblowers were party to 543 FCA settlements and judgments this past year—the highest number ever in a single year—and recovered $2.68 billion. The article highlights the recovery of $48.3 million from fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which Coler shared “is just the tip of the iceberg—I anticipate this number will grow significantly in the coming years.”

Stressing the critical role whistleblowers and whistleblower protection laws play in FCA cases and the successful recovery of taxpayer funds, the article specifies whistleblower-initiated suits account for about 86% of the DOJ’s recovery, which Coler added “confirms that whistleblowers are a powerful force in fighting fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars.”