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Current through October 23, 2012
(a) Any person who commits any of the following acts shall be liable to the District for 3 times the amount of damages which the District sustains because of the act of that person. A person who commits any of the following acts shall also be liable to the District for the costs of a civil action brought to recover penalties or damages, and may be liable to the District for a civil penalty of not less than $5,000, and not more than $10,000, for each false claim for which the person:
(1) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to an officer or employee of the District a false 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 claim paid or approved by the District;
(3) Conspires to defraud the District by getting a false claim allowed or paid by the District;
(4) Has possession, custody, or control of public property or money used, or to be used, by the District and knowingly 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 District and knowingly makes or delivers a document that falsely represents the property used or to be used;
(6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from any person who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property;
(7) Knowingly makes or 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 District;
(8) Is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of a false claim to the District, subsequently discovers the falsity of the claim, and fails to disclose the false claim to the District; or
(9) Is the beneficiary of an inadvertent payment or overpayment by the District of monies not due and knowingly fails to repay the inadvertent payment or overpayment to the District.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the court may assess not more than two times the amount of damages which the District sustains because of the act of the person, and there shall be no civil penalty, if the court finds all of the following:
(1) The person committing the violation furnished officials of the District responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to that person about the violation within 30 days after the date on which the person first obtained the information;
(2) The person fully cooperated with any investigation by the District; and
(3) At the time the person furnished the District with information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation.
(c) Liability pursuant to this section shall be joint and several for any act committed by 2 or more persons.
(d) This section shall not apply to the following:
(1) Workers' compensation claims filed pursuant to Chapter 15 of Title 32;
(2) Unemployment compensation claims filed pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title 51; and
(3) Claims, records, or statements made pursuant to those portions of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code that refer or relate to taxation.
(Feb. 21, 1986, D.C. Law 6-85, § 814, 32 DCR 7396, as added May 8, 1998, D.C. Law 12-104, § 2(g), 45 DCR 1687.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
2001 Ed., § 2-308.14.
1981 Ed., § 1-1188.14.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 12-104, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-308.07.
