Time to dust off the history books and brush up on the False Claims Act (FCA), which turned 150 years old this March.   

The FCA has been around since the Civil War, when Congress was trying to stave off rampant fraud and war profiteering as the country worked to rebuild the South. In 1986, Congress amended the FCA to provide for treble damages and penalties. The amendments also strengthened retaliation protection for whistleblowers and increased the rewards they could collect for bringing suits on behalf of the government. 

In fiscal year 2012, the government issued a record $5 billion in penalties under the FCA. Three-quarters of the cases were health care-related.

“There are huge dollars involved here, and that's leading to a lot more interest in the private bar in bringing these types of cases,” says Douglas Baruch, a partner at Fried Frank.