• AML
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home False Claims-Qui Tam

Whistleblower’s Tip Uncovered Alleged False Claims Act Violations Regarding NJ’s Special Education Medicaid Initiative

Ana PopovichbyAna Popovich
September 28, 2022
in False Claims-Qui Tam
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Red book with the words "Medicaid" on it and glasses and a stethoscope
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

Boston-based Public Consulting Group LLC (PCG) will pay $2.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. The case stemmed from a qui tam whistleblower complaint filed back in 2012; as part of the settlement, the whistleblower will receive 21% of the settlement amount from the U.S. government and $275,000 from PCG.

According to the settlement agreement, PCG is a company that “provides consulting and operational services for public sector health, education, and human service agencies and authorities.” The document states that as part of a contract with the State of New Jersey, PCG “provided administrative support for New Jersey’s Special Education Medicaid Initiative (“SEMI”) program. According to New Jersey’s website, “SEMI…and MAC (Medicaid Administrative Claiming) are school-based federal Medicaid Title XIX reimbursement programs.” Through these two programs, “participating public school districts are reimbursed a portion of the costs associated with providing health-related services to Medicaid-eligible students in their Special Education programs.”

The settlement agreement states that around the end of April 2012, the qui tam whistleblower filed a complaint alleging “that PCG and various New Jersey school districts made or caused to be made false claims in connection” with the SEMI program. The whistleblower alleged that “PCG caused local school districts to submit claims to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) for evaluation services that PCG knew or should have known were not covered by Medicaid.”

Register for National Whistleblower Day

The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act enable private citizens to file lawsuits on behalf of the government if they know of an individual or company defrauding the government. Qui tam whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 15 and 30% of the government’s recovery, if one occurs. The U.S. government has the chance to intervene in False Claims Act cases, and in this case, the government “contends that PCG submitted or caused to be submitted claims for payment to the Medicaid Program.” In particular, the U.S. “contends that it has common law claims against PCG, specifically, for payment by mistake, arising from evaluation service claims submitted by or for New Jersey school districts under the SEMI program during the period from April 23, 2006 through the date of this Settlement Agreement.”

PCG will pay the U.S. government $2,500,000 as part of the settlement. The company will pay the whistleblower $275,000. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, “[o]nce PCG makes the payment, the case will be dismissed.”

The whistleblower in the case will also be receiving 21% of the settlement amount from the U.S. government.

Whistleblowers are critical to uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse in the medical and health care industry: fraudulent schemes and defrauding of federal health care programs can be particularly harmful to patients and erode trust in the medical system. In Fiscal Year 2021, qui tam whistleblowers helped the DOJ recover $1.6 billion in settlements. The DOJ highlighted health care fraud as “the leading source of the department’s False Claims Act settlements and judgments.”

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who has been consistently championed as the “patron saint” of whistleblowers, proposed amendments to the False Claims Act in 2021 that would strengthen protections for whistleblowers and clarify existing law. The amendment was widely supported by whistleblower organizations and advocates. However, WNN sources discovered that the pharmaceutical lobby intervened with the amendment’s passage. The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is urging Congress to protect the False Claims Act: learn more here.

Read the DOJ press release here.

Read more False Claims Act/qui tam news on WNN.

Tags: False Claims / Qui TamFalse Claims ActFalse claims act rewardsFalse Claims/Qui TamHealth Care whistleblowerQui Tamqui tam whistleblowers
Previous Post

Whistleblower Disclosure Uncovers Pharmaceutical Kickback Scheme, Actions Led to $900 Million Settlement

Next Post

Oracle to Pay SEC $23 Million to Settle FCPA Charges

Ana Popovich

Ana Popovich

Ana Popovich is a contributing editor with Whistleblower Network News, where she writes about breaking whistleblower news, healthcare fraud whistleblowers, and Covid-19 fraud whistleblowers. Ana has a B.A. in English from Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, she was the marketing chair of an affinity group and wrote content for the McDonough School of Business’ Business for Impact program. In 2018, Popovich was a public interest legal intern at the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto. 

Next Post
Oracle FCPA

Oracle to Pay SEC $23 Million to Settle FCPA Charges

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

Advocates Detail Need for SEC Whistleblower Reform

Raytheon Whistleblower Receives $1.5 Million for Alleging Cybersecurity Non-Compliance

Ruling Striking Down Trump Order Targeting Law Firm Seen as Crucial for Whistleblowers

MJH Healthcare Settles Whistleblower Allegations of Postal Rate Fraud for $2 Million

Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Stronger Whistleblower Laws in Australia, Mirroring Polling in US

Four Whistleblowers Receive $1.3 Million for Alleging Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • Rules for Whistleblowers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2025, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN
RSVP to National Whistleblower Day 2025! July 30, 2025 on Capitol Hill
RSVP NOW

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook

Copyright © 2024, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version