DOJ Record Year of False Claims Act Enforcement Forecasts Even Greater Focus on the False Claims Act in 2026

On January 16, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued its annual year-end report on civil False Claims Act (FCA) accomplishments and highlights from Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. This follows DOJ’s announcement only a week earlier of a new DOJ position reporting directly to the White House that will oversee both civil and criminal fraud enforcement.

The headline takeaway is that DOJ demolished records for both dollars recovered ($6.8 billion) and the number of new whistleblower qui tam filings (1,297).

• The report confirms that DOJ is actively pursuing key administration FCA priorities, which include longstanding FCA subjects such as health care fraud and customs duty evasion, and new areas of focus such as diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, gender transition and antisemitism.

• Federal procurement and grant fraud, cyber-fraud and pandemic fraud enforcement remain bread-and-butter focus areas.
• DOJ continues to try to entice companies to seek credit in FCA settlements for self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation.

Based on DOJ-reported statistics, Akin shows the growth in FCA recoveries and qui tam filings.

Takeaway One: FCA Recoveries Reached an Unprecedented High

This year’s FCA recoveries hit a historic high at $6.8 billion, far surpassing FY 2024 recoveries of $2.9 billion and leaving no question that FCA enforcement is not just alive and well but a top priority of this administration.

As has been true in some other years, the 2025 recovery total is partly driven by a handful of cases. Two FCA trials yielded mammoth judgments in FY 2025: United States ex rel. Penelow v. Janssen Products, LP (D.N.J) ($1.64 billion) and United States ex rel. Bassan v. Omnicare, Inc. (S.D.N.Y.) ($949 million). Notably, the first of these was taken to trial by private parties who filed under the FCA’s qui tam whistleblower provisions and litigated the case after the government declined to intervene. On top of these very large recoveries for the government, DOJ kicked off FY 2025 with a recoveries of over $850 million, setting the stage for a record year even before the new administration took office.

These results are even more notable in a year that saw the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shutter and downsize government and agencies that partner in the civil fraud effort. In addition, DOJ civil fraud enforcement lawyers were offered multiple rounds of early retirements and severance packages, although the Civil Fraud Section, which leads nationwide FCA enforcement, saw no layoffs. With the White House’s January 8, 2026, pledge to get more involved in fraud enforcement, and with funds for new civil fraud hiring in the Big Beautiful Bill, FCA enforcement should continue to be a substantial compliance focus for every company and entity doing business with the government this year.

Takeaway Two: The Number of Qui Tam Filings Broke All Records

Whistleblower qui tam filings hit a record high this year. DOJ reported 1,297 qui tam filings in FY 2025. In FY 2024, relators filed a record 980 new qui tam complaints. DOJ publicly attributed FY 2024’s surge in qui tam cases to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud allegations. While those may become less prevalent as the pandemic recedes, DOJ has put out repeated calls, including in health care, trade and more political areas, for whistleblowers to come forward with information to support fraud enforcement.

Whistleblowers (known as qui tam relators) will continue to play a major role in civil fraud enforcement unless and until a court intervenes. As we advised in a prior alert, in 2026, multiple courts will consider the constitutionality of the FCA’s qui tam provisions and, within the next few years, the Supreme Court may have to decide whether the Constitution allows private citizens to bring fraud claims on behalf of the federal government.

Takeaway Three: The Administration Is Using the FCA, as Promised, to Pursue Its Agenda

The DOJ announcement underscores that the administration is carrying out its promises to use the FCA in its key priority areas.

DOJ has articulated a handful of priority uses of the FCA since the start of the current administration: health care fraud and tariff/customs duty evasion, which have been enforcement targets in the past, and new priorities tied to DEI, gender transition and fighting antisemitism. As to health care, the recent DOJ announcement highlights results related to Medicare Managed Care, prescription drugs and unnecessary or substandard care. With respect to tariff/customs duty evasion, it trumpets the FCA work of the DOJ Trade Fraud Task Force, which pursues a full range of authorities including others separately enforced by DOJ’s Criminal Division and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. As to its other priority areas, DOJ states that new FCA investigations have been opened. DOJ is already using the FCA as a tool to achieve the administration’s agenda, and we expect that trend to increase in 2026.

Takeaway Four: DOJ Is Continuing to Press Forward in Bread-and-Butter Areas Like Federal Procurement and Grants, Cyber-Fraud and Pandemic Relief Fraud

DOJ’s announcement shows it continues to pursue bread-and-butter fraud enforcement even beyond health care fraud and customs duty/tariff evasion. Procurement fraud has been a target of FCA enforcement since the Civil War and remained one this past year. Cyber-fraud and pandemic fraud were major focuses in the last administration, and they continue to feature in DOJ’s FY 2025 recap. DOJ announced as many cyber-fraud settlements in this administration’s first year as in the entirety of the last administration, confirming as we previously observed that the last administration’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative has been transformed into a regular part of DOJ’s FCA practice. With this fall’s long-anticipated rollout of the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification regime for contractors, non-compliance with cybersecurity requirements should continue to be an area for aggressive FCA enforcement. Pandemic relief cases, largely focused on the PPP, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and the Provider Relief Fund (PRF), will also continue as long as whistleblowers come forward with fraud allegations.

Takeaway Five: DOJ Continues to Try to Entice Companies to Seek Credit for Self-Disclosure, Cooperation and Remediation

DOJ’s announcement once again emphasized its policy of giving credit in FCA settlements for self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation. But in contrast to last year’s year-end press release and those of prior years, the announcement said very little about individual accountability, a goal DOJ had prioritized since the Obama years. Though this may signal a reduced focus on individuals, it is worth remembering that the FCA’s statute of limitations will outlast the current administration. It reaches back six to ten years, and the clock stops running the moment a qui tam is filed, no matter how long the government investigates under seal. As a result, individuals may still face enforcement in the future, even if they are less likely to do so now.

Historically, self-disclosure programs have not been widely used, except when disclosure is otherwise legally compelled, both because of the perception that DOJ did not furnish sufficient credit and known risks to making any disclosure—for example, that a sealed qui tam covering the same subject matter may exist (which may decrease or even negate credit for any disclosure), that the government will use the disclosure against the entity in a hostile fashion, or that the disclosure will be discoverable and used against the company in other litigation. DOJ has advertised more companies obtaining credit in recent years, especially in the cybersecurity space. Companies with FCA risks should continue to carefully evaluate, with experienced counsel, whether and how they could benefit in particular instances from DOJ’s repeatedly broadcast desire for its FCA settlements to reward self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation.

The Bottom Line

FY 2025 saw tremendous growth in both traditional and emerging areas of FCA enforcement. We expect that trend to continue. Whistleblowers are playing as central a role as ever in FCA cases, even as the courts ponder their role in the process.

Companies doing business with the government should commit resources to compliance and prepare for an even more active, possibly White House-driven, FCA enforcement environment in 2026. Companies should carefully consult with experienced counsel if considering seeking credit for self-disclosure, cooperation or remediation.

Akin’s False Claims Act team stands ready to assist with investigations and litigation, compliance counseling and risk assessment. Akin recently welcomed former DOJ Civil Fraud Section Assistant Director Sara McLean and Senior Trial Counsel Laura Hill, adding decades of government FCA enforcement experience to Akin’s deep bench of False Claims Act, white collar defense and government investigations, and regulatory attorneys focused on health care and life sciences, customs/international trade, cybersecurity, privacy and data, and government contracts.