Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

4-3-2009

SSRN Discipline

Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; Criminal Law & Procedure eJournals; Experimental & Empirical Studies eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; SRPN Subject Matter eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Public Law & Legal Theory; Financial Economics Network; Sustainability Research & Policy Network; Social Responsibility of Business eJournals; Management Research Network

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

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