FCA 'Knowingly' Standard and Reckless Disregard (31 USC 3729(b))
'Knowingly' under the FCA includes actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, and reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information; no specific intent required.
Primary source
31 USC 3729(b) — Office of the Law Revision Counsel →https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title31-section3729&num=0&edition=prelim
Verified May 23, 2026 · This is the authoritative regulator URL. The summary below is a research aid; the linked source controls.
31 USC 3729(b) defines "knowing" and "knowingly" to include three states of mind: actual knowledge of the falsity; acting in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity; or acting in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity. No specific intent to defraud is required.
This is the structural reason healthcare FCA exposure is broader than intuition suggests. A practice that knows its billing vendor is upcoding and does nothing, that ignores repeated audit findings, or that refuses to evaluate compliance hotlines reports can satisfy the deliberate-ignorance or reckless-disregard prongs without ever forming an actual intent to defraud.
Supreme Court guidance in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu (2023) clarified that subjective belief at the time of conduct controls — a contemporaneous good-faith reading of an ambiguous regulation can defeat scienter even if the reading is later determined incorrect, but ignoring guidance the defendant knew of cannot.
The Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar (2016) implied-certification framework holds that violation of a material payment requirement can render a claim false even without express misrepresentation. Materiality is the active battleground in recent litigation.
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Last reviewed May 23, 2026 · Citation verified May 23, 2026
Research aid, not legal advice. This summary is an administrative research aid prepared by D3rx. It does not certify compliance, provide legal advice, replace counsel, or guarantee an audit outcome. For authoritative regulatory text follow the primary source link at the top of this page. The practice remains responsible for reviewing, adopting, and maintaining its compliance program.