This post has been corrected.
The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act is a puny thing next to its older, more austere sibling, the False Claims Act — but the little law might be due for growth spurt.
Under the 1986 PFCRA, known affectionately as the “mini False Claims Act,” government investigators can pursue false claims of up to $150,000 in administrative proceedings. A person found liable may be made to pay up to $5,000 per claim and double the total amount falsely claimed.
Still, that’s a pittance compared with recoveries under the False Claims Act, which routinely exceed $5 million. But what if the $150,000 cap were lifted?
At a panel Thursday on recent changes to the False Claims Act, a Justice Department official said he expected Congress to do just that.
Michael Granston, Deputy Director of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, told the audience that the PFCRA could be the next big thing in civil fraud enforcement.
While Granston ventured no guess as to how high the bar would go, even a small bump would provide inspectors general more incentive to use the law. The PFCRA could even chip away at the Justice Department’s FCA caseload, using a streamlined administrative process, rather than the federal courts, where FCA complaints often remain under seal for years.
“You might have new people knocking on your door,” Granston told the crowd.
In an earlier version of this post, Michael Granston’s name was misspelled.
