The $2.29 Billion Safety Net: What the FY2025 DOJ Statistics Say About Declined Cases
On September 1, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit vacated and remanded the district court ruling in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, finding the qui tam provisions Constitutional under the Appointments Clause. This decision was significant in ensuring private relators’ ability to litigate and bring cases when the government declines intervention. The significance of non-intervened cases is reflected in the Department of Justice’s released Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025 Fraud Statistics1, which show that declined-case qui tam litigation has become a needed and protected core of federal fraud recovery.
When the DOJ declines intervention, reasons more often include caseload limits rather than lack of merit2.
In FY 2025, whistleblowers filed 1,297 new qui tam actions, a 32% increase over FY 2024 (980 matters) and an 82% increase from FY 2023 (712 matters)1. Total qui tam recoveries in FY 2025 reached $5.34 billion, with government-declined cases accounting for $2.29 billion, or 42.8% of that total1. Proving that non-intervened qui tam suits can reach outcomes that meet and exceed government enforcement, we see that privately litigated cases accounted for nearly half of all whistleblower recoveries this year1.
When the DOJ declines to intervene, these independent whistleblowers are a necessary force, especially in the healthcare sector. Of the $2.288 billion recovered in declined cases, $2.274 billion (99.4%) came directly from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)1. Notably, relators who litigated without DOJ intervention recovered more healthcare money ($2.274 billion) than the DOJ achieved in HHS qui tam matters where it formally intervened ($2.225 billion)1. Over 50% of $4.49 billion healthcare recoveries came from declined cases, further demonstrating that declined cases hold both merit and huge gains for the fight against fraud1.
This system creates a significant return on investment for the public. In FY 2025, whistleblowers in declined cases received $44.3 million in statutory relator shares, meaning taxpayers retained 98.1% ($2.24 billion) of the gross recovery without the federal government’s assistance1. While the government conducts initial investigations and can file statements of interest, relators carry the financial burden that comes with active litigation when the government declines to intervene.
Since the 1986 FCA amendments, the numbers show that this system has worked:
- Whistleblowers in declined cases recovered $7.86 billion for the federal government1.
- Relators received $1.37 billion in cumulative statutory share awards for independently prosecuting1.
- Declined actions now account for 12.9% of the $60.97 billion in total qui tam settlements and judgments achieved1.
This piece was written by Ennyn Chiu, an intern with TAF Coalition.
1 Fraud Statistics – Overview, Oct. 1, 1986 – Sept. 30, 2025, U.S. DEP’T OF JUSTICE, CIVIL DIVISION, https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1424121/dl.
2 See U.S. Dep’t of Just., Justice Manual § 4-4-111 (2026) (noting that case declination “may not equate to the conclusion that a qui tam is meritless.”); Jonas Heese, et al., The Department of Justice as a Gatekeeper in Whistleblower-Initiated Corporate Fraud Enforcement: Drivers and Consequences, 71(1) J. ACCT. & ECON. 101357, 101361 (2021) (noting that the DOJ is more likely to intervene in a whistleblower case when it has more resources available to it).
