Title: How can the U.S. government sue a business? | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How can the U.S. government sue a business?
How can the U.S. government sue a business?
Antitrust Lawsuits
False Claims Lawsuits
Who Can Sue?
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Author's Note: How can the U.S. government sue a business?
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Content: Under civil law, fraud can be difficult to prove, because it has many components: Advertisement
Not only must the perpetrator make a false claim, but he or she must know that the claim is false
The claim must be made knowing that the victim will rely on that information to make a decision
The victim must suffer damages from making that decision [source: ACFE]
In a criminal fraud case, on the other hand, the government only has to prove that the perpetrator tried to defraud the victim, regardless of whether he or she succeeded [source: ACFE ]. Here are some examples of situations in which the U.S. government could sue in civil court for false claims: A defense contractor reports false test results on the performance of its armed personnel carriers, and the malfunctioning vehicles cost the U.S. Army millions in repairs
A hospital files millions of dollars in Medicare claims for unnecessary or nonexistent medical services
A research lab that received grant money from the National Science Foundation uses the money to pay for an employee trip to Disney World [source: TAF Education Fund]
A popular provision of the False Claims Act is something called qui tam, better known as the "whistleblower" law. A whistleblower is an employee of a company who comes forward with proof of the company's fraudulent activities. Under the qui tam provision, a whistleblower sues the company on behalf of the federal government [source: TAF Education Fund ].