(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong announced today he is seeking expanded authority to fight fraud and abuse across Connecticut state government.
In 2009, Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law Connecticut’s False Claims Act, giving the Office of the Attorney General authority to investigate and civilly prosecute fraud and abuse of taxpayer funds. Since then, the Office of the Attorney General, in conjunction with federal and state law enforcement partners, has recovered over $181 million in misspent public dollars. But Connecticut’s law is exceptionally weak—it applies only to spending in State-administered health or human services programs. Connecticut’s law is far more limited than any one of our bordering states.
Legislation proposed by Attorney General Tong seeks to expand the scope of Connecticut’s False Claims Act by removing provisions that limit application of these statutes to State-administered health or human services programs. More than one hundred different agencies, offices, and quasi-public agencies spend tax dollars on behalf of the government of the State of Connecticut. The current Connecticut False Claims Act covers programs at just nine agencies. The legislation would allow the Office of the Attorney General to pursue fraud and abuse of tax dollars anywhere in State government, while also protecting and encouraging those who step forward to report fraud and abuse in any State spending.
States with similar False Claims Act...
A La Habra-based provider of positron emission tomography scan services has agreed to pay more than $8.3 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by offering improper payment...