Due to inflationary pressures, on January 30, 2023, the Department of Justice increased penalties for violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) for the second time in less than a year. As of January 30, 2023, the minimum penalty for a FCA violation is now $13,508, up from $12,537. The maximum penalty for a violation increased to $27,018, up from $25,076. These higher penalty amounts apply to any civil penalties assessed after January 30, 2023 for violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.
The Department of Justice has authority to make these increases to penalties pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. Since 2015, civil monetary penalties may be revisited annually to adjust for inflation. This is the second such increase to penalties for violations of the FCA in under nine months, however, with last year’s increase having taken effect on May 9, 2022. The 2022 increase raised the minimum civil monetary penalty for an FCA violation from $11,803 to $12,537 and the maximum, from $23,607 to $25,076.
The January 30, 2023, increase is based on the Consumer Price Index for the month of October 2022. Accordingly, civil monetary penalties increased by 7.745% for 2023. In 2022, the penalties increased by 6.222%, compared to just 1.182% in 2021.
The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent clients of all types and sizes in connection to False Claims Act litigation and government investigations. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us today.