Amerigroup Illinois Inc. Fraud Case
Amerigroup Illinois Inc. was found guilty in 2006 under the Federal Claims Act and the Illinois Protection Act. Amerigroup and its subsidiaries denied enrolling pregnant women and unhealthy patients in its managed care program in Illinois. Amerigroup received payment from the state and federal governments to operate a Medicaid health care program for low-income earners (Department Justice, 2008). Amerigroup was mandated by law to enroll all applicants eligible for the care under the Medicaid program. The State of Illinois and the Federal government of the US filled claims against Amerigroup, alleging that the corporation overlooked their responsibility of enrolling unhealthy parents and pregnant women since it would have been more expensive and lowered the profit margins earned by the patients.
The court entered into a $334 million judgment against Amerigroup under the Federal Claims Act and the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act. The Jury found the firm guilty under both Acts. The firm filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Seventh Circuit of Chicago, seeking the decision to be revised (Department Justice, 2008). However, Amerigroup agreed to dismiss its appeal and got into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA)with the Office of the Inspector General in the civil division. Amerigroup also agreed to make a $22 million settlement to resolve the allegation that it defrauded the Medicaid program.
The Illinois Whistleblower and Protection Act allows the whistleblowers to bring forth the allegations...
The act is now known as the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act (IFCA) in 1991. The damages provision in IFCA is similar to the statutory language of the federal FCA that allows the penalties of $5000 to $11,000 per for every claim (Department of Justice, 2021). Adherence to the legal implication of these Acts is delegating civil responsibility to individuals who witness defrauding behavior to file an allegation with local authorities. The IFCA protects the whistleblowers from the defendant by ensuring that they are reinstated if their employer terminates their
employment with similar status in the corporation (Rudman, 2009). Further, the whistleblowers are compensated for any damages they might have incurred, such as attorney fees, litigation costs, and interests on the backpay.
The Amerigroup was initially filled by Cleveland Tyson, who was a former employee of the company. Under the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act or IFCA and the False Claims Act, Tyson is recognized as a realtor and was entitled to file the suit claiming fraud on behalf of the state and federal government. Further, as the whistleblower, he was entitled to part of the money recovered from the claim. Consequently, Tyson received $56.25 million from the settlement (Department Justice, 2008). Notably, the fraud could have been brought forward to prevent the denial of healthcare services to eligible individuals had the case been presented earlier. However, Tyson could only file the allegation after leaving the company and securing his financial security (Rudman, 2009). This is because court proceedings unpredictable, and this would have resulted in unemployment, causing him financial distress. Notably, the protection of whistleblowers being taken up by the state and federal governments…
