On December 3, 2015 the Department of Justice (DOJ)  released its annual summary of recoveries in False Claims Act (FCA) cases.  Although down from last year’s $5.69 billion, this year’s recoveries of $3.5 billion demonstrate the power that the government wields to drive settlements of fraud allegations.  Of the $3.5 billion, $1.1 billion in recoveries are attributable to settlements and judgments in cases alleging false claims for payments under government contracts.  A good portion of these settlements likely were driven by claims of false implied certifications.

For many years, federal courts have grappled with the issue of whether factually accurate claims submitted to the government for payment can nevertheless be “false or fraudulent,” pursuant to an implied certification theory, because of an underlying violation of law.  On December 4th, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that should decide whether this theory of liability is valid.   Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar represents the latest entry in a debate among the United States Courts of Appeals about the viability of the “implied false certification” theory.  The cert petition raised three questions.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2015/12/high-court-to-resolve-split-of-authority-on-implied-false-claims/