Maximus, Inc. pays $30.5 Million to settle False Claims Act Case
"Helping the Government serve the People" is the tagline of Virginia based Maximus, Inc., latest corporate citizen entangled in a Medicaid fraud scam. Unfortunately, this company needs a new tagline. The DOJ announced today that Maximus has agreed to pay $30.5 Million to settle qui tam lawsuit. The company admitted to their part in submitting fraudulent Medicaid claims for children who may not have received foster care services. Last September, at the end of their fiscal year the company reported earning $700 million in revenue and predicted a rosy forecast for 2007. Today the Maximus stock closed at $42.05, only down a slight 5% from earlier trading. I wonder, how they will project next year's forecast, in wake of this scandal. It is a scandal, because the good name of this organization has been tarnished due to a few "greedy" and "unscrupulous" workers.
Thanks to the brave whistleblower, Benjamin Turner, a former division manager at Maximus, the acts and deeds of the corporate wrongdoers, did not go unpunished. In recognition for his efforts, Mr. Turner will receive $4.93 million as a result of filing a qui tam or whistleblower lawsuit under the provisions of the False Claims Act. There are times when a whistleblower gets compensated for his brave actions. And there are times when the whistleblower gets nothing, even after going to the Supreme Court, as in the case of Rockwell v. United States, as mentioned here previously on the Whistleblower Law Blog. Take a look at the Whistleblower statistics reported by the US DOJ, from 1986 - 2006. There were over 5,500 whistleblower cases filed. As John Mack, blogger for Pharma Blogoshere points out, that comes to about $326,341 per whistleblower if they all shared the approx. $1.79 billion equally. This is not enough to retire on, but it is not a bad start for a new life after standing up for what is right and turning in an employer for defrauding the government.
According to the US DOJ Press Release, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, Peter D. Keisler said " The Maximus settlement demonstrates the Justice Department’s strong commitment to vigorously pursuing those companies that defraud the Medicaid program.
Let's hope more brave whistleblowers step forward and turn in corporations for qui tam or false claims act violations. If you are a whistleblower, with vital confidential information on your company, fraudulently billing the government, contact an attorney that handles qui tam litigation. You need to protect your rights, and your "relator's" share of what the government recovers from the qui tam claim. The Lawyers of LaBovick & LaBovick are former Federal Prosecutors that know how to prosecute qui tam claims on behalf of the government. Call today for a confidential free consultation.
Click here to read more on Maximus from Forbes and Associated Press and the US Department of Justice.
The Whistleblower Law Blog is presented as a service of the Private Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, P.A., Civil Justice Prosecutors. LaBovick & LaBovick is a Plaintiff's firm that represents whistleblowers in Florida and throughout the United States in qui tam (False Claims Act) litigation
