United States ex rel. Kessler v. Mercur Corp.

PATTERSON, District Judge.

The informer’s statute (R.S. § 3490 [31 U.S.C.A. § 231]) incorporates section 5438 of the Revised Statutes as it stood when the Revised Statutes were adopted, not as section 5438 has later been amended (18 U.S.C.A. §0 80). Kendall v. United States, 12 Pet. 524, 9 L.Ed. 1181. An informer’s action will therefore He only in cases where the defendant has made false, fictitious, or fraudulent “claim upon or against” the government of the United States. This means a claim for money or property “to which a right is asserted against the Government, based upon the…