The Department of Justice on Monday announced the establishment of a sweeping new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, signaling a significant escalation in the government’s efforts to combat civil rights violations by entities receiving federal funding.
This initiative will leverage the False Claims Act to investigate and prosecute organizations, including colleges and universities, that knowingly infringe upon federal civil rights laws.
The False Claims Act, a powerful tool against fraud, allows for penalties including treble damages and substantial financial penalties for violations.
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Attorney General Pamela Bondi said, “Institutions that take federal money only to allow anti-Semitism and promote divisive DEI policies are putting their access to federal funds at risk. This Department of Justice will not tolerate these violations of civil rights – inaction is not an option.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke of the urgency and scope of the initiative.
“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,” Blanche stated. He emphasized that the Department of Justice’s Civil Fraud Section and Civil Rights Division will collaborate, alongside other 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.”
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The Justice Department is actively encouraging individuals with knowledge of discrimination by federal funding recipients to consider filing a qui tam action under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3730).
Successful whistleblowers in such actions typically receive a portion of the monetary recovery. The Department also urged the public to report instances of discrimination to the appropriate federal authorities, directing them to https://www.justice.gov/civil/report-fraud for more information.
This initiative marks a shift in the Department of Justice’s approach to civil rights enforcement, placing financial accountability at the forefront for institutions that fail to uphold their civil rights obligations. It sends a clear message that the federal government will actively pursue those who misuse public funds while perpetuating discriminatory practices.
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