False
Claims Act is a law or legal tool, envisioned by the US Government, which
enables the third persons or relators to file cases against the individuals and
organizations that are breaking the law or participating in illegal activities.
The main objective of the law is to fight the prevalent corruption within the
government bodies.
False
Claims Act came into existence during the American Civil War (1861–1865), and
is also known as the Lincoln
Law, since it was passed under the supervision of president Abraham
Lincoln.
The
Qui Tam conditions of the law allow the common residents or citizens of the
United States to sue the companies and/individuals, which are defrauding the
government, on behalf of the government, without seeking any permission to do
so. The term ‘Qui Tam’ is a shorter version of a Latin phrase, which is
believed to be the sole purpose of the act.
Amendments
The
False Claims Act so far has seen three amendments, in 1986, 2009, and 2010,
respectively. In the first amendment, the reward of the plaintiffs was
increased to between 15 to 30 percent of the recovered sum. While in further
revisions of the law, the scope of potential False Claims Act liability was
expanded by eliminating the requirement of presentment; and the clauses and
definitions of Public Disclosure Bar, Overpayments and Original Source
Requirement were signified.
There
is a detailed process of filing a lawsuit under the FCA. The plaintiffs do not
need to lodge a complaint with the concerned department, in which the offence
is taking place. A duly filled lawsuit should be filed in the U.S. District
Court in a sealed envelope, with the help of a False
Claims Act attorney. The Department of Justice decides whether it is a
case or not, after an investigation period of at least sixty days.
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