False Claims Act Recoveries by Year: The Money Behind the Annual Headlines

False Claims Act recoveries by year show what the Justice Department recorded in settlements and judgments, from fiscal 1987 through fiscal 2025. Whistleblower cases account for much of that money. If you know how your employer bills a federal program, prices a government contract or evades customs duties, these figures put the value of inside knowledge in perspective.

The latest year in this archive set a record. The longer history shows where the money came from, how the mix changed and why an older annual headline can differ from the government’s later figures.

False Claims Act Recoveries by Year, 1987 Through 2025

The Justice Department’s annual statistical tables accompanying its January 16, 2026 announcement supply every row below.

Qui tam cases are cases whistleblowers bring in the government’s name. The pursued column covers those in which the United States intervened or otherwise pursued the claims. The declined column covers those it declined. Whether the government joins a whistleblower case matters to who pursues it, and the table keeps those results separate.

Across the full period, the department reports $85,652,583,093 in settlements and judgments, including $60,972,925,646 from qui tam cases. Most of it came from whistleblower cases.

From Defense Contracts to Health Care

Defense dominated some early years, while health care accounts for much of the recent money. The agency figures for fiscal 1991 and fiscal 2025 show how far that mix can shift.

The Congressional Research Service’s 2009 report, Qui Tam: The False Claims Act and Related Federal Statutes, traces the law to the Civil War and describes how the 1986 amendments revived private enforcement and increased whistleblower incentives. Its explanation of qui tam’s purpose is useful here: lawmakers enlist private people when official enforcement cannot do the whole job alone. The recovery columns show how much of the modern system runs through that choice.

Selected agency figures show both the historical change and the difference between dollars and new filings:

The contrast matters. In the latest year, Health and Human Services accounts for the largest dollar amount, while other agencies account for the most new whistleblower cases. A contractor, grant recipient or importer can recognize a substantial enforcement record outside health care.

The Cases Behind the Annual Totals

A national total becomes more useful when it stays connected to the payment practice behind it. Selected annual reports show how different those practices can be.

Fiscal 2000 and 2003: Hospital Bills, Royalties and Procurement

The fiscal 2000 announcement covered health care, mineral royalties, brokerage firms and defense procurement. The historical series was already reaching well beyond a contractor sending a false invoice.

HCA appears in the fiscal 2003 report. The government’s account of the hospital settlements alleged false cost reports and kickbacks. Billing staff and people preparing reimbursement reports would recognize different parts of that picture.

Fiscal 2012 and 2014: The Mortgage Contribution

Mortgage and housing cases became a major part of the annual figures. The fiscal 2012 report identified $1.4 billion in that category, alongside $1.5 billion in federal civil money from the GlaxoSmithKline resolution.

The fiscal 2014 report put mortgage and housing recoveries at $3.1 billion. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, SunTrust Mortgage and U.S. Bank were among its named matters.

The government’s earlier Bank of America allegations concerned reckless Federal Housing Administration underwriting, inflated appraisals and mortgage-modification eligibility practices. The connection to public money ran through federal insurance and program eligibility. The loan file mattered, even though a mortgage lender’s customer was a borrower.

Fiscal 2021: A Bankruptcy Claim in the Total

The fiscal 2021 announcement included the government’s $2.8 billion claim in Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy.

The same report included a $160 million settlement involving Arriva Medical and Alere and a $90 million Sutter Health settlement. One annual row can therefore contain different kinds of civil outcomes, even within health care.

Fiscal 2024: A Payment to Satisfy a Judgment

Gen Digital, formerly Symantec, paid $55.1 million to satisfy a judgment, according to the fiscal 2024 report.

Fiscal 2025: Pharmacy Judgments and Contractor Settlements

The fiscal 2025 announcement reported an Omnicare/CVS judgment of $948.8 million following a jury verdict concerning false claims. It also identified whistleblower-run trials involving Janssen Products and CVS Caremark.

Raytheon’s civil settlement accounted for $428 million. The government alleged untruthful certified cost and pricing disclosures during contract negotiations. The information used to negotiate a price can matter as much as the eventual invoice.

Teva’s separate settlements addressed copay allegations for $425 million and price-fixing allegations for $25 million.

The department also reported more than $52 million from nine cybersecurity settlements and more than $230 million from over 200 pandemic-relief settlements and judgments. Its customs discussion included allegations concerning unpaid duties. These categories show the range of the work behind a record year, from contract promises to money a business owed the government.

Why a Settlement Lands in the Next Fiscal Year

The reporting year follows the federal fiscal calendar, ending September 30. The announcement can come later: the fiscal 2025 package appeared on January 16, 2026.

The boundary makes a concrete difference. Teva’s settlements occurred on October 10, 2024, and Raytheon’s on October 16, 2024. The fiscal 2024 announcement expressly left them out, and the following year’s announcement included them. Both happened in calendar 2024. Their annual reporting belongs to fiscal 2025.

Why Older Recovery Figures Change

The Justice Department revises earlier years when it publishes a new statistical edition. Older annual reports can therefore show different figures for the same year.

For comparison with the revised archive above, these were the amounts published in earlier editions:

The earlier tables accompanied the department’s fiscal 2023 announcement and its fiscal 2024 announcement. Filing counts changed too. Fiscal 2024 first appeared with 979 new qui tam cases and later became 980.

Whistleblower Recoveries and Awards

Whistleblower cases produced $5,340,006,336 of fiscal 2025’s settlements and judgments. The government’s record year includes cases it declined to pursue. We see billions in that column. Hardly a sideshow.

The award column records whistleblower awards, which can fall in a different fiscal year from the case’s resolution.

A whistleblower case under the False Claims Act can pay 15% to 30% of what the government recovers. If you have questions about a possible reward, our experts can assess the conduct and the payment records with you.

The Records Behind the Next Recovery

If you recognize a false billing practice, misleading contract prices, evaded customs duties or an unsupported eligibility claim, bring that account to our whistleblower experts. We connect your knowledge to the government’s money and bring in False Claims Act whistleblower lawyers who understand your industry. You gain partners who stay beside you from the first assessment through the outcome.