42-4-303. Acts subjecting person to treble damages; costs and civil penalties; exceptions.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any person who commits any of the following acts in relation to the Wyoming Medicaid program shall be liable to the state for three (3) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the act of that person. A person who commits any of the following acts shall also be liable to the state for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any penalties or damages provided in this subsection, and shall be liable to the state for a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for each violation:

(i) Knowingly presents or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;

(ii) Knowingly makes, uses or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim;

(iii) Is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of a false claim to any employee, officer or agent of the state or a political subdivision of the state, or to any contractor, grantee or other recipient of state funds or funds of any political subdivision of the state, who subsequently discovers the falsity of the claim and fails to disclose the false claim and make satisfactory arrangements for repayment to the state or affected political subdivision within ninety (90) days after discovery of the false claim;

(iv) Conspires to commit a violation of paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of this subsection.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the court may assess not more than two (2) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the act in violation of subsection (a) of this section, and no civil penalty, if the court finds all of the following:

(i) The person committing the violation furnished officials of the state who are responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to that person about the violation within forty-five (45) days after the information is requested; and

(ii) The person has substantially cooperated with any investigation by the state.

(c) The provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to a recipient as defined by W.S. 42-1-101(a)(v). Any recipient who knowingly:

(i) Presents or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim shall be liable to the state for the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the claim and shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00);

(ii) Violates paragraph (i) of this subsection a second or subsequent time shall be liable to the state for three (3) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the claim and shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).