Grassley Law Returns Record-Breaking $6.8 Billion in Fraudulent Government Payments to Taxpayers

Grassley Law Returns Record-Breaking $6.8 Billion in Fraudulent Government Payments to Taxpayers

WASHINGTON - Under a law championed by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the federal government recovered over $6.8 billion in fraudulent payments in fiscal year 2025 (FY25), the largest single-year recovery in the history of the False Claims Act. Whistleblowers were responsible for helping recover a vast majority of this amount, over $5.3 billion. During that same period, whistleblowers filed 1,297 qui tam lawsuits, the highest number in a single year. Since Grassley strengthened the False Claims Act in 1986, it has recouped approximately $85 billion for taxpayers and saved countless more by deterring would-be fraudsters.

"The False Claims Act remains the government's single greatest tool to fight waste. By empowering patriotic whistleblowers to shine a light on wrongdoing, the law continues to deliver for the American people, returning approximately $85 billion for taxpayers. I was proud to author the 1986 updates that supercharged the law, and I'm grateful for the DOJ's work to aggressively utilize this critical tool to crack down on fraud and abuse," Grassley said.

The False Claims Act consistently roots out fraud in health care. In FY25, $5.7 billion of the more than $6.8 billion in settlements and judgments were related to the health care industry. Specifically, DOJ focused on three major areas of fraud: managed care, prescription drugs and medically unnecessary care. These recoveries will restore funds to federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE.

Read more about FY2025 False Claims Act settlements and recoveries HERE.

Background:

In 1986, Grassley updated the False Claims Act, the law enabling the government to recover taxpayer dollars from entities that defrauded federal agencies. A key provision in that update, known as qui tam, allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits against alleged fraudsters on behalf of the government and share in any recoveries. The law has been so successful that Congress established similar programs at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to incentivize whistleblowers who expose fraud and wrongdoing.

Despite the False Claims Act's overwhelming success, courts and defendants have attempted to mischaracterize and weaken the law. In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision upholding the plain text and congressional intent of the law to hold accountable individuals who knowingly defraud the government. Grassley filed an amicus brief in that case.

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