§661-21 - Actions for false claims to the State; qui tam actions.

[PART
II.] QUI TAM ACTIONS OR RECOVERY OF

FALSE
CLAIMS TO THE STATE

§661-21 Actions for false claims to the
State; qui tam actions. (a) Notwithstanding section 661-7 to the
contrary, any person who:

(1) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to
an officer or employee of the State a false or fraudulent claim for payment or
approval;

(2) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or
used, a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or
approved by the State;

(3) Conspires to defraud the State by getting a false
or fraudulent claim allowed or paid;

(4) Has possession, custody, or control of property
or money used, or to be used, by the State and, intending to defraud the State
or wilfully to conceal the property, delivers, or causes to be delivered, less
property than the amount for which the person receives a certificate or
receipt;

(5) Is authorized to make or deliver a document
certifying receipt of property used, or to be used by the State and, intending
to defraud the State, makes or delivers the receipt without completely knowing
that the information on the receipt is true;

(6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an
obligation or debt, public property from any officer or employee of the State
who may not lawfully sell or pledge the property;

(7) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or
used, a false record or statement to conceal, avoid, or decrease an obligation
to pay or transmit money or property to the State; or

(8) Is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of
a false claim to the State, who subsequently discovers the falsity of the
claim, and fails to disclose the false claim to the State within a reasonable
time after discovery of the false claim;

shall be liable to the State for a civil penalty of
not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000, plus three times the amount of
damages that the State sustains due to the act of that person.

(b) If the court finds that a person who has
violated subsection (a):

(1) Furnished officials of the State responsible for
investigating false claims violations with all information known to the person
about the violation within thirty days after the date on which the defendant
first obtained the information;

(2) Fully cooperated with any state investigation of
such violation; and

(3) At the time the person furnished the State with
the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or
administrative action had commenced under this title with respect to such
violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an
investigation into such violation;

the court may assess not less than two times the
amount of damages that the State sustains because of the act of the person. A
person violating subsection (a), shall also be liable to the State for the
costs and attorneys' fees of a civil action brought to recover the penalty or
damages.

(d) This section shall not apply to any
controversy involving an amount of less than $500 in value. For purposes of
this subsection, "controversy" means the aggregate of any one or more
false claims submitted by the same person in violation of this part. Proof of
specific intent to defraud is not required.

(e) For purposes of this section:

"Claim" includes any request or
demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property that is
made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient if the State provides any portion
of the money or property that is requested or demanded, or if the government
will reimburse the contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of
the money or property that is requested or demanded.

"Knowing" and "knowingly"
means that a person, with respect to information:

(1) Has actual knowledge of the information;

(2) Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or
falsity of the information; or

(3) Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or
falsity of the information;

and no proof of specific intent to defraud is
required.

(f) This section shall not apply to claims,
records, or statements for which procedures and remedies are otherwise
specifically provided for under chapter 231. [L 2000, c 126, pt of §1; am L
2001, c 55, §28(1)]

Case Notes

Defendants' motion for summary judgment granted as to
plaintiffs' claim under the federal and state False Claims Acts (claim analyzed
under the federal Act); there were no genuine issues of material fact as to
whether defendant knowingly submitted false claims to medicare under the
"incident to" rules. 490 F. Supp. 2d 1062.