False Claims Act Expands Scope To Immigration In Federal Work

The False Claims Act has long been used by the Department of Justice to combat health care and government contract fraud. Now the department is using the FCA for immigration enforcement.

Two recent FCA civil settlements with federal government contractors totaling millions of dollars, over allegations of immigrants, called "unauthorized aliens" by DOJ, performing work billed to the government, serve as a warning.

DOJ announced on Sept. 18 that Bayonne Drydock and Repair Corp. agreed to pay more than $4 million to settle FCA allegations that project subcontractors owned by the company's contract and risk manager employed "unauthorized aliens." DOJ alleged that these employees worked on ship contracts in violation of the E-Verify provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. The manager pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring and continuing to employ "unauthorized aliens" in violation of 8 U.S.C. Sections 1324a(a)(2) and (f)(1) and 18 U.S.C. Section 2. Notably,