States, Statutes and Fraud: Emerging State Efforts to Combat White Collar Crime

Abstract

This article addresses the trend of using private citizens to help prosecutors detect and prove fraud. The premiere white collar crime tool used by the United States Department of Justice is the civil False Claims Act (FCA) which, with its promise of sharing judgments collected from lawsuits filed with private individuals, encourages individuals to bring information about fraud to DOJ. With generous awards of attorneys' fees and costs, the FCA also encourages private attorneys to partner with DOJ lawyers in investigating and litigating these complex cases. But does this prosecutorial model work? In the most thorough study done of this trend, we address this question. In a study of prosecutors in the fifty states and the District of Columbia we examine whether the states have responded to Congressional incentives to pass their own False Claims Acts, and why or why not. In the states that have enacted False Claims Acts, we look at whether these statutes are working as hoped. Our Article contains the results of our study and analysis of those results.