“The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act . . .”
This quote comes from a lengthy press release issued on July 14 by the U.S. Department of Justice, touting the success of the Trade Fraud Task Force. In that press release, DOJ states that the Task Force” has surpassed $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and publicly charged losses in less than one year.” At least 60% (and probably more) of that total is from settlements of qui tam cases brought by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act. The press release specifically calls out a number of those settlements, the two largest of which were the Ceratizit case (in which Tycko & Zavareei LLP represented the whistleblower) and the Perfectus Aluminum case. While DOJ can rightly claim credit for those settlements, both of those cases were started many years ago not by DOJ or CBP, but by private whistleblowers taking action under the False Claims Act. And the whistleblowers in those cases were handsomely rewarded with multi-million dollar awards paid to them by DOJ. In the Ceratizit case alone, the whistleblower’s award was more than $9 million.
So, it’s no wonder that, in the press release, DOJ encourages more whistleblowers to come forward by filing qui tam cases. In terms of dollars recovered, this is the single best tool in the government’s quiver, because so much of the customs fraud that is occurring remains invisible to CBP and DOJ until a whistleblower come forward.
If you see are aware of customs fraud, now is absolutely the best time to say something. And a qui tam case brought under the False Claims Act is the best way to say it. Uncle Sam approves this message!