On May 27, 2026, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Division announced reforms to accelerate its review of False Claims Act whistleblower complaints alleging fraud against federally funded state-administered benefits programs. Under the new procedures, the Civil Division will prioritize these qui tam complaints by completing its initial review of the case within 60 to 120 days. At the conclusion of that review, the DOJ will decide to take one of three paths: (1) permit the relator to proceed with the action and assume primary responsibility for litigation; (2) continue with further government investigation; or (3) seek dismissal of the complaint under 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A) for lack of adequate specificity or for legal deficiency.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate stated that the reforms are intended to help the Department “more rapidly identify and disrupt emerging schemes, strategically deploy enforcement resources to recover taxpayer money, and strengthen the government's broader fight against fraud.” The announcement noted that the initiative supports the Administration's broader anti-fraud efforts, including the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division, both launched earlier this year.
In addition to the accelerated timeline, the DOJ stated it will adopt a whole-of-government approach by referring new benefits fraud matters to the Criminal Division and the National Fraud Enforcement Division for evaluation of potential criminal violations. New matters will also be shared with the affected agency to evaluate potential administrative action, including payment suspension. The Department indicated it will continue to assess ways to improve its processes for the prompt resolution of benefits fraud qui tam actions.
The DOJ’s press release is available here.
