On August 26, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California announced that the City of Los Angeles agreed to pay $38.2 million to settle whistleblower allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misusing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant funds by falsely certifying that homes were accessible to people with disabilities.
The case stems from a qui tam whistleblower suit filed by a Los Angeles resident who uses a wheelchair and the Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley, a nonprofit disability rights advocacy group.
The government alleges that “for over a decade, the City of Los Angeles failed to follow federal accessibility laws when building and rehabilitating affordable multifamily properties and failed to make its affordable multifamily housing program accessible to people with disabilities.”
“The housing was not structurally accessible because of failures like slopes that were too steep, counters that were too high, and thresholds that did not permit wheelchair access,” the government further alleges.
According to the government, the City of Los Angeles falsely certified to HUD that it complied with grant requirements mandating that recipients of federal housing development funds must comply with federal accessibility laws.
“By failing to make certain that HUD-funded multifamily housing was appropriately built or rehabilitated to meet federal accessibility requirements, the city discriminated against people with disabilities,” said HUD Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis.
“This settlement shows that we will hold accountable jurisdictions receiving federal grant money to ensure they satisfy their obligations to make affordable housing accessible to people with disabilities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 15-30% of a settlement which stems from their qui tam suit. In this case, the whistleblower’s share has not yet been determined.
In July 2023, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the False Claims Amendments Act of 2023, which address a few technical loopholes undermining the success of the FCA. The bill is widely supported by whistleblower advocates.
National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has issued an Action Alert calling on Congress to pass the bill.
Join NWC in Taking Action:
Demand that Congress strengthen the False Claims Act
Further Reading:
Bipartisan Legislation Unveiled to Strengthen False Claims Act