The United States spends billions of dollars annually funding research in the healthcare industry by issuing grants.  Research fraud can include fraudulent grant applications, falsified research, or funds used for unapproved purposes.  Any false claim submitted to the federal government concerning a research grant may be a violation of the FCA.

Example

The Rochester, Minnesota based Mayo Foundation settled a case with the government for $6.5 million in 2005. Allegedly, the Foundation had improperly used funds from research grants on unapproved projects. Specifically, the costs of an overspent grant were falsely reported instead on an underspent grant to equalize the costs. The whistleblower, an accounting associate, received an award of $1.3 million.