Qui Tam: An Ingenious Bulwark Against Fraud

Abstract

In 1863, the “Qui Tam” provision was introduced to the United States (U.S.) in the False Claims Act (FCA) and has since served as the foundational law of U.S. government fraud prevention. The FCA set up the consequences for individuals found to have defrauded the U.S. government. It also introduced provisions which allowed private citizens to sue a person or company for defrauding the government.187 In essence, the FCA allowed private citizens to initiate lawsuits against other private citizens on the government’s behalf, as if the government were suing them itself.