The Department of Justice has announced inflationary adjustments to the False Claims Act’s civil monetary penalties as a result of rising inflation, marking the second adjustment in less than one year. The adjustments are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for October 2022, and the applicable inflation factor for the adjustment is 1.07745.
Increased Penalty Amounts
The minimum False Claims Act penalty increased from $12,537 to $13,508 per claim while the maximum penalty increased from $25,076 to $27,018 per claim. This follows the 2022 final rule, where the applicable inflation factor was 1.06222 and the minimum penalty went from $11,803 to $12,537.
For Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act violations that involve a False Claim or False Statement have also increased to $13,508 from $12,537. Fines relating to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act and involve a violation involving surplus government property are increased to $6,891 from $6,396. Fines for violations involving kickbacks under the Anti-Kickback Act increased from $25,076 to $27,018.
Ethics
Additionally, fines under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 and penalties for Conflict of Interest Crimes increased from $110,107 to $118,635. Organizations that violate the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act can face a $1,239,642 fine per violation.
Americans With Disabilities Act
Fines for violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act also increased, with fines for public accommodations for individuals with disabilities increasing to $111,614 for the first violation and $223,229 for subsequent violations.
Drug Enforcement Administration
Penalties increased for DEA actions as well, including the penalty for import or export drug abuse under the Controlled Substance Import Export Act (from $79,950 to $86,142). Violations of 842(b)(ii) of the SUPPORT For Patients and Communities Act regarding opioids increased from $109,374 to $117,845 while violations of 842(a)(5), (10), and (17) by a registered manufacturer of distributor of opioids increased from $546,867 to $589,222.
The penalties are increased for all civil monetary penalties within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice for purposes of the Inflation Adjustment Act. Other agencies are responsible for the inflation adjustments of certain other civil monetary penalties that the DOJ brings suit to collect.
The revised penalties will be assessed for violations that occurred after November 2, 2015, and are assessed after January 30, 2023.