The health-care industry led the way as a record 543 False Claims Act settlements and judgments were reported in fiscal year 2023. More than $1.8 billion of the $2.68 billion total involved matters related to managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, long-term acute-care facilities and physicians.

"As the record-breaking number of recoveries reflects, those who seek to defraud the government will pay a high price," said Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Division. "The American taxpayers deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars will be used to support the important government programs and operations for which they were intended."

The amounts included in the $1.8 billion reflect recoveries arising only from federal losses, but in many of these cases, the department was instrumental in recovering additional amounts for state Medicaid programs. The recoveries in fiscal year 2023 also reflect the department's focus on key enforcement priorities, including fraud in pandemic relief programs and alleged violations of cybersecurity requirements in government contracts and grants.