09-04-2025
False Claims Act: Theories of Liability
The FCA generally imposes civil liability for conduct involving fraud on the US government, including:
Submitting false claims for payment to the government.
Retaliating against an employee, contractor, or agent who takes steps to either bring an FCA case or attempt to stop FCA violations. (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733.)
Although the government has targeted certain industries for FCA enforcement, understanding FCA liability is important for any entity or person that does business directly or indirectly with the government.
This article explains the scope of civil liability under the FCA and identifies the elements of common FCA claims (for the complete version of this resource, which includes information on defenses to FCA claims and on FCA retaliation claims, see False Claims Act: Elements and Defenses on Practical Law).
(For more on FCA claims generally, including defending FCA claims, see Understanding the False Claims Act on Practical Law; for information on enforcement and liability under the FCA in the health care and life sciences industries and in government contracting, see Health Care False Claims Act: Overview and Government Contracts: False Claims Act on Practical Law.)
