DOJ Launches FOCUS Initiative to Triage Data Miners Filing Qui Tam FCA Complaints: Key Takeaways

DLA Piper – The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics (FOCUS) initiative – a new program designed to formalize and prioritize the Civil Division’s engagement with data miners.DOJ defines “data miners” as “companies or individuals who analyze publicly available government data for potential signals of fraud” and file qui tam complaints under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) (cases brought in the name of the US by private plaintiffs, who are eligible to receive a share of the recovered damages and monetary penalties).