In what is becoming an annual refrain, 2014 marked another year
of robust False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement by the U.S. Department
of Justice (DOJ) and mushrooming qui tam lawsuits by
whistleblowers. Indeed, fiscal year 2014 surpassed the significant
growth of the last two years, setting a new record of $5.69 billion
in settlements and judgments from civil cases. Since 2009, total
recoveries under the FCA have exceeded $22.75 billion.
Several factors contributed to the record-setting recoveries in
2014. The foremost difference from recent years was the significant
settlements involving the mortgage and banking industries. While
health care had been the leading industry affected in 2013 and
2012, the mortgage and banking industries led the way in 2014 with
over $3 billion in recoveries. That figure was composed of a few
massive, well-publicized awards, including the $1.85 billion
settlement involving Bank of America Corporation and large
settlements involving JPMorgan
