Fraud By The Numbers Series

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 3

    The modern success of the False Claim Act stems largely from whistleblowers filing cases involving healthcare fraud. That success stands in contrast to a decline in cases filed alleging fraud committed in the defense industry. The Department of Justice attributes more than $48 billion in settlements and judgements to cases whistleblowers have filed since the…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 2

    Last year on Fraud By the Numbers, we examined how many dollars were recovered under the False Claims Act compared with the amount that the government is spending. It’s time for an update! In fiscal year 2021, the federal budget was a whopping $6.82 trillion – the highest dollar amount ever – up from $6.55…

  • Fraud By The Numbers Sept. 1

    Weeds, in the most generous definition, are plants in the wrong place. Anyone with aspiration to be a green thumb knows how the joy of planting seeds and watching them grow quickly becomes an ongoing battle to keep the weeds out of a treasured pot, bed, or field. Keeping the weeds at bay so that…

  • Fraud By The Numbers 2022 Intro

    In Spring 2021 we identified a need to re-sensitize all of us so we remember how big the fraud problem actually is, and to highlight the invaluable role that whistleblowers play in fighting all kinds of fraud. We realized this would involve more than a single podcast or blog post, and it also didn’t fit into…

  • Numbers Don’t Lie: Fraudsters Do

    For the last month, we have taken a daily look beyond the news headlines to present hard numbers about fighting fraud in America. In creating this daily blog project, Fraud By The Numbers, we have documented three key facts: Our financial markets and government programs are at perpetual risk to massive fraud schemes. Whistleblowers have…

  • Whistleblowers: About As Rare As Lightning Injuries

    If you are an avid movie watcher – as many of us have become over the last two years – it may seem like whistleblowers are very common. After all, they are heroes of popular films such as The Insider, Erin Brockovich, The Informant, and many others. While they are a popular and constant presence…

  • There Are Nearly 300,000 Civil Cases In The US Each Year, How Many Are False Claims Act Cases?

    Yesterday, we debunked the myth that whistleblowers are overly compensated for their role in reporting fraud on the government. Today, we will look at another common attack on whistleblowers–that they file too many False Claims Act cases. Numbers from the federal judiciary show why those complaints are unfounded. There is a massive amount of civil…

  • How Much Do Whistleblowers Make From False Claims Act Cases?

    Here are the facts. Companies who contract with the government, or organizations that support those contractors, would have you believe whistleblowers are reaping huge windfalls when they expose fraud on the government. The data simply does not bear that out. From fiscal years 1987 through 2005, the median relator share was $123,885. By 2009, this…

  • The Cinderella of Government Spending: Non-Defense Contracting

    When the federal government spends $1.3 trillion on Medicare and $676 billion on defense a year, it’s easy for fraud on those programs to take center stage. They are important programs, and those are massive dollar amounts. However, behind those two behemoth numbers, there are different ways the government spends its money that leave it…

  • Billions Are Lost to Small Business Fraud

    Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy: they create two-thirds of net new jobs and drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness while accounting for 44 percent of U.S. economic activity. Congress has recognized that the federal government—which spends hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts each year—can play an important role in supporting and…