Viewpoint: FCA Changes Threaten Federal Aid Recipients

It was sheer coincidence that many preeminent financial institutions collapsed months after the Supreme Court announced a unanimous decision setting reasonable limitations on potential liability under the federal False Claims Act.

Nonetheless, these events combined to create unique circumstances that led Congress to "fix" what was not broken by enacting dramatic changes to the law's scope. The result will expose unsuspecting banks, investment companies and other financial institutions to devastating penalties under a statute originally aimed at Civil War profiteers.