Fraud Types

Healthcare Fraud

Government’s major role in our health care system, through Medicare and Medicaid, has resulted in health care fraud being the largest type of fraud committed on the government. Those companies and individuals with whom the government transacts to take care of its citizens, regularly cheat the government out of billions of dollars.

Healtcare Fraud Types Include:

Defense Contractor Fraud

Early day defense contractors, dating back to the Civil war, are attributed with having sold the Union Army decrepit horses and mules in poor health, faulty rifles and ammunition, and spoiled rations and provisions.  As a result, the False Claims Act was passed by Congress on March 2, 1863.  Central to the False Claims Act is that it permits citizens to sue on behalf of the government and be paid a percentage of the recovery. 

Little has changed in the 140+ years since the introduction of the False Claims Act.  Defense contractors continue to be a significant source of fraud on the government, with the only change appearing to be the sheer magnitude of the fraud.  The law was amended in 1986, driven by President Ronald Reagan’s concerns over the exploding national deficit and his contention that a vast amount of government spending was being misused through waste and fraud.

Defense Contractor Fraud Types Include:

IRS Tax Fraud

In December 2006, the IRS created its Whistleblower Office, seeking to replicate the success of the False Claims Act, which has resulted in more than $10 billion in recoveries by the U.S. government.  Similar to the False Claims Act, the IRS Tax Whistleblower Rewards Program pays whistleblowers a percentage of the recovery in exchange for valuable information.

Financial Fraud

The U.S. government conducts business with many private companies and individuals for a host of reasons. Billions of dollars expended by the Federal Housing Administration, FEMA, the Trouble Asset Recovery Program (“TARP”) and other government agencies are all subject recovery under the False Claims Act.

When transacting with the government there are often many different factors, including regulatory, environmental and other contractual considerations. The possibilities for fraud on the government are as diverse as the government’s various activities in which it engages.

Financial Fraud Types Include:

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