Adam Feinberg discusses the DOJ’s instruction to federal prosecutors to use creative ways to take action against banks in connection with allegedly fraudulent mortgage practices, including relying on the False Claims Act (FCA). Liability under the FCA does not require the government to prove intent to defraud. Instead, the government must simply demonstrate a "reckless disregard for the truth," Feinberg says. Originally designed to root out suppliers that swindled the U.S. Army during the Civil War, the FCA is now being used to address allegedly illegal practices related to the origination or sale of troubled mortgage loans.