On Monday, the Department of Justice announced the establishment of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will utilise the False Claims Act to investigate and, as appropriate, pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.
Violations of the False Claims Act can result in treble damages and significant penalties.
“Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate these violations of civil rights – inaction is not an option.”
“America has watched a tidal wave of anti-Semitism sweep our universities and seen public institutions codify inherently divisive policies like DEI at an unprecedented rate,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The department “strongly encourages” anyone with knowledge of discrimination by federal funding recipients to consider filing a qui tam action under the False Claims Act. See 31 U.S.C. § 3730.
When a qui tam action is successful, the whistleblower typically receives a portion of the monetary recovery. The department also urged the public to report instances of such discrimination to the appropriate federal authorities.
Blanche added, “In advancing the initiative, the Department of Justice’s Civil Fraud Section and Civil Rights Division will work in concert – alongside other Department components and government agencies – to identify and root out instances in which recipients of federal funds fail to uphold their basic obligations under federal civil rights laws. The days of using federal funds to further discrimination are over.”
