Lawsuits Bring in $3 Billion for U.S.

The Wall Street Journal reported that The Justice Department recouped $3 billion for the federal treasury in the most recent fiscal year from civil suits, most brought against companies alleged to have defrauded the government, the department said Monday.

The recoveries were up 25% from the $2.4 billion collected the previous year.

Civil settlements and court judgments in health-care fraud cases accounted for a record $2.5 billion in the year, the department said. It is unclear whether health-care fraud is on the rise, or whether the sums recovered are a result of a tougher enforcement stance that dates to the end of the Bush administration, said Tony West, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.