The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) obtained more than $6.8 billion in civil False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments in Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025 — the highest recovery in a single year in the statute’s history and more than double the total recoveries in the prior year, according to DOJ. In addition, 1,297 new qui tam lawsuits were filed nationwide in FY 2025 — a record high — generating new DOJ investigations and litigation over alleged fraud against the government.
Announced on January 16, 2026, via a press release proclaiming DOJ’s focus on using the FCA to combat fraud in various industries receiving federal funds, these statistics underscore both DOJ’s heightened enforcement focus and the concomitant risks facing companies that do business with the federal government. The statistics also reflect the increasingly significant role of qui tam whistleblowers (relators) in FCA enforcement. More than 77 percent of DOJ’s total judgments and settlements in FY 2025 (over $5.3 billion) originated from qui tam suits as opposed to those initiated by government investigators in the first instance.
This article provides a clear synopsis and analysis of DOJ’s FCA statistics for FY 2025 and their significance for companies that receive federal funding, or payment, through contracts, grants, loans, and other mechanisms.
FCA Overview
Enacted during the Civil War and amended in 1986, 2009, and 2010, the FCA (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733) imposes treble damages and penalties on persons that knowingly present or cause to be presented false claims for payment to the government. Under the statute’s qui tam provision, private persons known as relators can bring lawsuits against defendants (entities or individuals) alleging violations on behalf of the government. The filing of a qui tam suit in federal court triggers a DOJ investigation to determine whether the government should intervene and take over the case, decline to intervene, or seek dismissal. Relators are entitled to recover between 15 percent and 30 percent of any settlement or judgment obtained by the government in a qui tam case.
Every year, DOJ announces statistics providing insights into its enforcement of the FCA during the prior fiscal year ending September 30. From one year to the next, DOJ’s figures are often influenced by one or more large dollar-value settlements or judgments that drive up the totals. The statistics can also reflect DOJ’s policy priorities, including the extent to which DOJ devotes resources to cases in particular areas. The FCA has been a substantial source of monetary recoveries over the last 40 years. DOJ has obtained more than $85 billion in FCA settlements and judgments since 1986, when the statute was amended to strengthen its provisions.
The second Trump administration has made clear its intent to aggressively enforce the FCA, including in certain priority areas. In May 2025, DOJ announced a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative aimed at using the FCA to target alleged discrimination in employment programs (see our analysis here). The FCA is also a centerpiece of DOJ’s cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force, which is focused on bringing robust enforcement actions against importers and other parties based on alleged fraud against the government.
DOJ is also defending the qui tam statute against a closely watched appeal of a U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida’s 2024 decision holding that the qui tam provision violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution on grounds that relators impermissibly exercise governmental authority reserved to Officers of the United States without being appointed by the President. Oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates LLC (No. 24-13581) was held December 12, 2025, and a decision is pending.
Key Findings From DOJ’s Statistics for FY 2025
DOJ’s statistics regarding FCA enforcement during FY 2025 highlight several noteworthy findings. The statistics are broken into three categories: Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Department of Defense (“DoD”), and “other” (non-HHS and non-DoD).
- The $6.8 billion in DOJ’s FCA settlements and judgments is a major jump from prior years, and more than double the approximately $3.1 billion recovered in FY 2024. Notably, FY 2025 was the first time that DOJ’s FCA recoveries exceeded $6 billion since 2014, which had been the highest annual recovery since 1987, when the statistics begin.
- Of the more than $6.8 billion in total FCA recoveries in FY 2025, more than $5.3 billion originated from cases filed by qui tam relators. And of that amount, more than $2.2 billion (about 40 percent) came from qui tam cases in which the government declined to intervene. That is the largest total value of recoveries obtained in declined qui tam cases in a single year. This underscores the significant role of relators in FCA investigations and litigation.
- The 1,297 new qui tam lawsuits filed in FY 2025 were a massive increase from prior years, and the largest-ever number of such suits filed in any one year. The second-largest number of new qui tam suits (980) was filed in FY 2024, which was a significant uptick from FY 2023 (712) and 2022 (660).
- DOJ initiated 401 new FCA investigations in FY 2025, as opposed to qui tam suits in which a relator files a complaint under seal in district court, resulting in a government investigation. Although the number of DOJ-initiated cases dropped slightly from FY 2024, when DOJ opened 425 new FCA cases, 401 is, historically, a relatively high number. Further, it stands to reason that given the same DOJ prosecutors needed to leverage their finite resources on determining intervention decisions in qui tam suits, they would have relatively fewer resources to investigate their own organically initiated cases.
- Relators received more than $330 million in payouts in FY 2025, a drop from FY 2024 (more than $479 million) and FY 2023 (more than $486 million). Relators’ shares of total recoveries thus fell even as qui tam relators brought larger recoveries to the government.
- Health care fraud cases continued to produce significant FCA settlements and judgments, and an increase in qui tam cases. Of the more than $6.8 billion total in recoveries, more than $5.7 billion involved the health care industry. There were 641 new health care-related FCA cases in FY 2025, of which 458 were qui tam cases. These figures were a marked increase from FY 2024, when there were 457 new health care FCA cases, of which 370 were qui tam cases.
- FCA settlements and judgments involving defense contracting jumped more than sixfold from more than $98 million to more than $633 million, more than $533 million of which arose from qui tam suits. The $633 million figure represents DOJ’s single largest annual recovery in defense-related FCA settlements or judgments since 2006 — the biggest recovery in such cases in nearly two decades. The total number of new defense-related FCA cases opened in FY 2025 (66) was a modest increase from FY 2024 (59).
- The total settlements and judgments in “other” FCA cases dropped from more than $1.2 billion in FY 2024 to more than $532 million in FY 2025. The “other” category includes pandemic relief-related cases that continue to generate large numbers of cases each year. There were 991 “other” FCA cases filed in FY 2025, of which 798 were qui tam suits, compared to a total of 889 “other” cases in FY 2024, of which 577 arose from qui tam suits.
DOJ Priority Areas
DOJ also released a fact sheet setting forth representative examples of FCA matters pursued by DOJ and relators during the prior fiscal year.
According to DOJ, its priority areas include, in the health care context, cases involving managed care (particularly Medicare Advantage), prescription drugs, and medically unnecessary services and substandard care. DOJ also highlighted settlements involving military procurement, citing settlements with defense contractors resolving allegations of defective pricing, for example. DOJ likewise emphasized its continued focus on bringing FCA cases related to cybersecurity requirements in government contracts. According to DOJ, in FY 2025 alone, it obtained more than $52 million in nine cybersecurity fraud settlements, and reported that “civil cybersecurity fraud settlements have more than tripled in each of the past two years.” DOJ also highlighted cases involving misuse of COVID-19 relief funding and, notably, tariff and customs avoidance. The latter category includes settlements against companies that allegedly misrepresented the country of origin of imports to avoid paying antidumping and other duties.
Takeaways
As the record-setting statistics show, DOJ is laser focused and committed to FCA enforcement — a fact that is clearly not lost on the relators and the plaintiffs’ bar representing them; obviously, this creates significant ramifications for government contractors and other companies in regulated industries. The largest-ever number of new qui tam suits highlights the expanding role of relators in FCA enforcement in recent years. The increase in new qui tam cases also sets the stage for DOJ investigations during FY 2026 and beyond. This year is likely to be a consequential one for FCA enforcement, as the administration continues to pursue cases in traditional areas while also intensifying efforts to bring FCA cases in areas such as customs, tariffs, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The increase in the number — and dollar-value impact — of qui tam suits in FY 2025 underscores the high stakes of the pending appeal before the Eleventh Circuit inZafirov. In that case, the court is reviewing a decision by the lower court striking down the qui tam provisions as violative of the Appointments Clause of Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The constitutionality of the qui tam provision has also been raised before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Penelow v. Janssen Prods. LP, No. 25-1818 (3rd Cir. 2025), and in other cases. The wave of litigation follows Justice Clarence Thomas’s dissenting opinion in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. (No. 21-1052) in 2022, suggesting that the U.S. Supreme Court should consider in a future case whether the qui tam provision of the FCA violates Article II of the U.S. Constitution (two other Justices concurred with Justice Thomas). Subject to the U.S. Supreme Court potentially deciding to take up a case on this issue, whether in Zafirov or another case, constitutional arguments are likely to continue to be raised in lower court cases involving qui tam complaints. In the meantime, the statistics demonstrate that relators are likely to continue to bring cases and test new legal theories, including in declined cases.
A question we frequently hear from clients when they believe they either might have a would be whistleblower or simply in response to the steady drumbeat of DOJ press releases, is the familiar refrain of, “What, if anything, should I be doing?” The statistics underscore the importance of strong compliance programs for companies that receive federal funds, particularly in areas where the administration has made clear it intends to deploy the FCA. Attention to reporting mechanisms to handle allegations of wrongdoing raised by company employees coupled with regular training are also essential. And having experienced counsel with an understanding for the current DOJ and its enforcement priorities is an important part of effectively responding to any DOJ investigation.
