A major challenge to one of the U.S. government’s most effective anti-fraud tools has been rejected by a federal appeals court, preserving the ability of private whistleblowers to pursue claims on behalf of the United States.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a 2024 ruling that had cast doubt on the constitutionality of the whistleblower provisions contained in the False Claims Act.
The dispute centered on whether private citizens can constitutionally bring lawsuits in the government’s name. A federal judge in Florida had previously concluded that the arrangement gave whistleblowers powers reserved for officers of the executive branch.
The Atlanta-based appeals court disagreed.
In its ruling, the three-judge panel said whistleblowers pursuing cases under the False Claims Act are not federal officers and therefore do not require appointment by the president. The decision brings the 11th Circuit in line with other federal appeals courts that have considered similar constitutional objections.
The case will now return to the lower court for further proceedings.
The underlying lawsuit was brought by whistleblower Clarissa Zafirov, who accused Florida healthcare providers of improperly billing Medicare.
At the heart of the dispute is the False Claims Act, a law dating back to the Civil War era. Its so-called whistleblower mechanism allows private individuals to file fraud claims on behalf of the federal government. If money is recovered, the whistleblower may receive a share of the proceeds.
When the government joins a False Claims Act case, whistleblowers can generally receive between 15% and 25% of the recovery. If the government chooses not to intervene and the private party continues the litigation, the potential share can rise to between 25% and 30%.
Over the years, the law has helped the U.S. government recover billions of dollars in cases involving allegations of fraud against federal programs and agencies.
The appeals court’s decision erased the earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle, who had concluded that the law improperly allowed private citizens to exercise authority belonging to the federal government.
Federal officials had urged the appeals court to preserve the whistleblower provision, arguing that the government maintains sufficient authority over such lawsuits.
The ruling was closely watched because a decision against the provision could have disrupted a long-established system used to uncover and pursue alleged fraud involving government funds.
For now, the 11th Circuit has delivered a clear answer: private whistleblowers can continue bringing False Claims Act cases without violating the Constitution.
