NUWAY Alliance, formerly one of Minnesota’s largest addiction treatment providers, has agreed to pay a $18.5 million settlement in federal court for allegations that the company fraudulently billed Medicaid. The U.S. Attorney's office says NUWAY violated the False Claims Act by giving clients illegal kickbacks in the form of free housing and double billing for treatment sessions.
The federal case, which court records show dates back to 2021, involved multiple whistleblowers who claimed NUWAY schemes defrauded the federal and state governments of well over $30 million since at least 2018.
“The submission of false claims for federally funded government contracts will not be tolerated. Protecting taxpayer dollars from fraud and abuse is one of our top priorities at the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said.
The state of Minnesota will be specifically awarded back $8 million worth of settlement funds, which will be returned to the State’s General Fund.
The announcement follows a KARE 11 Investigation of NUWAY, which revealed through a series of reports tens of millions of dollars in questionable billing practices, kickback allegations and executive enrichment.
The Minneapolis-based nonprofit was founded as one of the nation’s first halfway houses in the 1960s. NUWAY once served more than a thousand clients a day, providing addiction treatment across the state.
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