Pharmaceutical and device companies, financial institutions, government contractors, oil and gas conglomerates, and other public and private entities continue to be in the crosshairs of aggressive federal government regulatory enforcement efforts. At the same time, private plaintiff whistleblowers (and their specialized counsel) continue to tap into the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) deep resources to reap the rewards of these enforcement efforts. The False Claims Act (FCA) remains one of the most powerful weapons in this enforcement arsenal, allowing the government (and whistleblowers and their counsel) to recover treble and statutory penalties from defendants who are found liable for making fraudulent claims to the government. The FCA applies to a broad array of government programs and contracts.

The dollars collected by the government and private plaintiffs through these actions remain staggering. Indeed, the DOJ recently reported that recoveries in FCA civil actions have steadily risen in each of the past three years, setting a new high-water mark for settlements and judgments: $4.9 billion in 2012, $3.8 billion in 2013 and a record-breaking $5.69 billion in 2014. The steady increase in FCA filings over the past five years (more than 800 new cases were filed in fiscal year 2014) suggest that this trend is not likely to end anytime soon. As these enforcement and collection efforts continue across industries, it remains critical that the corporate subjects (and executives) of these investigations be armed with defenses and best strategies to limit the government's reach.