Southern District of Ohio Concludes that Regional Federal Reserve Banks are Not “the Government” Under the FCA
On August 20, 2018, U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted summary judgment in favor of The Brink’s Company, concluding that Regional Federal Reserve Banks (RFRB) are not “the Government” for purposes of the federal False Claims Act. Finally, Judge Marbley concluded that, “to the extent that reasonable minds could differ on the question whether RFRBs are subject to the FCA, ‘the tie must go to the defendant. . . .’” As Judge Marbley cautioned, allowing causes of action under the FCA for fraud directed at private actors “threaten[s] to transform the FCA into an all-purpose antifraud statute.”
