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The U.S. False Claims Act, Qui Tam & National Security in Higher Education
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The U.S. False Claims Act, Qui Tam & National Security in Higher Education

Brendan Walker-Munro
Journal of National Security Law & Policy, Vol.17, pp.1-10
27/10/2026
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Abstract

cyberespionage Natonal Security & Homeland Security
At the height of the U.S. Civil War in 1863, defrauding the U.S. military was rife. Rotting ship hulls were repainted and sold to the Navy, the Army received boots made of cardboard, and crates of muskets or barrels of gunpowder were opened to discover they had been filled with sawdust.1 On March 2, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the False Claims Act (FCA),2 with Congress making clear that the mandate of the law was to “prevent and punish frauds upon the Government of the United States” by ferreting out and punishing these enormous frauds upon our Government.”3 Under the original FCA’s terms, both civil and criminal penalties could be sought against parties who submitted fraudulent claims for payment by the United States government. 4 Liability could also arise for making or using a record to obtain payment of a false claim, or conspiring to defraud the government.5 Uniquely, the FCA permitted any private citizen to file a suit on behalf of the government (known as qui tam actions),6 with successful private plaintiffs awarded up to 50% of the penalty imposed (which itself was set at three times the damages established to have been incurred by the Government in honoring the fraudulent claim).7 The FCA thus effectively turned ordinary citizens into “a bounty hunter or private attorney general” known as a “relator.”8

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