False Claim Act Glossary: All about False Claim Act

False Claim Act Glossary

Defective Pricing – submitting faulty pricing information to the government which results in a higher contract price

False Certification of Entitlement Benefits – inaccurate data for price supports or mortgage guarantees

The False Claims Act – first enacted in 1863, The False Claims Act was designed to urge whistleblowers to come forward by giving them a portion of the funds recovered. It was applicable to all government contractors, federal programs, and other circumstances involving the use of federal revenue. The False Claims Act was amended in 1943 and again in 1986, altering the whistleblower’s portion of recovery, the ease of bringing a lawsuit, and increasing the punishment of defendants.

Fraud - Deception carried out to attain personal gain while causing harm to another party.

Lincoln Law – an early term for The Civil False Claims Act, enacted during the Civil War by Abraham Lincoln and a predecessor to modern qui tam legislation including the current False Claims Act.

Mischarging – providing a false claim for products or services that were not produced or delivered

Product and Service Substitution – giving certification to a product that of poor quality that does not meet regulations, or submitting one product to the government for approval and then substituting it for a product of faulty quality on delivery

Qui Tam – an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “qui tam pro domino rege quam pro sic ipso in hoc parte sequitur”, meaning “who as well for the king as for himself sues in this matter”. A qui tam action allows private citizens to file lawsuits in the name of the United States government charging fraud by those who receive or use government funds. The private citizen may share in the reparations the guilty are ordered to pay.

Relator – a whistleblower that files suit under the False Claims Act

State False Claims Act – False Claims Acts that are specific to individual states instead of the Federal act

Whistleblower – an employee, former employee, or member of an organization who reports misconduct to people or entities that can take corrective action