What factors are considered in determining the amount of penalties and assessments to impose?

Checkout our iOS App for a better way to browser and research.

§ 1149.60 What factors are considered in determining the amount of penalties and assessments to impose?

(a) Although not exhaustive, the following factors are among those that may influence the ALJ and the authority head in determining the amount of penalties and assessments to impose with respect to the misconduct charged in the complaint:

(1) The number of false, fictitious, or fraudulent claims or statements;

(2) The time period over which such claims or statements were made;

(3) The degree of your culpability with respect to the misconduct;

(4) The amount of money or the value of the property, services, or benefit falsely claimed;

(5) The value of the Government's actual loss as a result of the misconduct, including foreseeable consequential damages and the cost of the investigation;

(6) The relationship of the amount imposed as civil penalties to the amount of the Government's loss;

(7) The potential or actual impact of the misconduct upon national defense, public health or safety, or public confidence in the management of Government programs and operations, especially upon the public confidence of those intended to benefit from Government programs;

(8) Whether you have engaged in a pattern of the same or similar misconduct;

(9) Whether you attempted to conceal the misconduct;

(10) The degree to which you have involved others in the misconduct or in concealing it;

(11) Where the misconduct of employees or agents is imputed to you, the extent to which your practices fostered or attempted to preclude such misconduct;

(12) Whether you cooperated in or obstructed an investigation of the misconduct;

(13) Whether you assisted in identifying and prosecuting other wrongdoers;

(14) The complexity of the program or transaction, and the degree of your sophistication with respect to it, including the extent of your prior participation in the program or in similar transactions;

(15) Whether you have been found, in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, to have engaged in similar misconduct or dealt dishonestly with the Government of the United States or a state, directly or indirectly; and

(16) The need to deter you and others from engaging in the same or similar misconduct.

(b) Nothing in this section must be construed to limit the ALJ or the authority head from considering any other factors that in any given case may mitigate or aggravate the offense for which penalties and assessments are imposed.


Download our app to see the most-to-date content.