WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has recovered a record $5 billion in the past year from companies that filed false claims against the government.

Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West said Tuesday that the federal False Claims Act is the most powerful tool the government has for protecting the integrity of government programs from Medicare to defense contracting.

Since the beginning of 2009, the department has recovered $13.3 billion in False Claims Act cases, the largest four-year total in the Justice Department's history.

Department official Stuart Delery says false claims act cases involve a risk of harm to a wide range of Americans — such as homeowners victimized by abusive foreclosure practices and men and women in the armed forces relying on defective products sold to the military.