(a) No person shall:

(1) Knowingly present, or cause to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval under a state-administered health or human services program;

(2) Knowingly make, use or cause to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim under a state-administered health or human services program;

(3) Conspire to commit a violation of this section;

(4) Having possession, custody or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the state relative to a state-administered health or human services program, knowingly deliver, or cause to be delivered, less property than the amount for which the person receives a certificate or receipt;

(5) Being authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used, or to be used, by the state relative to a state-administered health or human services program and intending to defraud the state, make or deliver such document without completely knowing that the information on the document is true;

(6) Knowingly buy, or receive as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from an officer or employee of the state relative to a state-administered health or human services program, who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property;

(7) Knowingly make, use or cause to be made or used, a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state under a state-administered health or human services program; or

(8) Knowingly conceal or knowingly and improperly avoid or decrease an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state under a state-administered health or human services program.

(b) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be liable to the state for: (1) A civil penalty of not less than five thousand five hundred dollars or more than eleven thousand dollars, or as adjusted from time to time by the federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, 28 USC 2461, (2) three times the amount of damages that the state sustains because of the act of that person, and (3) the costs of investigation and prosecution of such violation. Liability under this section shall be joint and several for any violation of this section committed by two or more persons.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this section concerning treble damages, if the court finds that: (1) A person committing a violation of subsection (a) of this section furnished officials of the state responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to such person about the violation not later than thirty days after the date on which the person first obtained the information; (2) such person fully cooperated with an investigation by the state of such violation; and (3) at the time such person furnished the state with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action or administrative action had commenced under sections 4-276 to 4-280, inclusive, with respect to such violation, and such 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 which the state sustains because of the act of such person. Any information furnished pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from disclosure under section 1-210.

(P.A. 14-217, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 14-217 effective June 13, 2014.