The judiciary rejected the company’s claim that the false claims law did not apply to the lawsuit.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that whistleblower fraud lawsuits against a Wisconsin telecommunications company that allegedly overcharged schools for internet services could move forward.
Wisconsin Bell argued that the lawsuit cannot proceed because government funds are not involved, but the judge opposed, with some government funds involved, which is a whistleblower that is lower courts He said the lawsuit could proceed.
The lawsuit revolved around the application of the Federal False Claims Act (FCA). Sometimes called the Lincoln Act, the FCA was enacted in 1863 to deal with fraud by defense contractors during the civil war. Under the law, anyone who accidentally files a false claim with the government is subject to a $2,000 fine for each false claim, in addition to triple damages.
Auditor whistleblower Todd Heath has been sued under the FCA on behalf of the federal government, claiming that petitioner Wisconsin Bell, a subsidiary of AT&T, misused funds under the electronic fees program. Masu.
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Telecommunications companies will be refunded through the Universal Services Fund (USF) to provide Internet services to schools and libraries. USF is funded by taxes on telephone services and is administered by USAC. This tax is collected through the Line Item Fees that appear on your monthly phone bill. Schools, school districts and libraries are permitted to apply for grants individually or as a group in the form of discounts on services.
The US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals turned the US in August 2023, and Heath was to convince the “rational ju” that Wisconsin Bell is engaged in discriminatory pricing practices against schools and libraries. I’ve compiled enough evidence.
A new opinion from the Supreme Court, Justice Kagan wrote that requests for refunds are subject to the False Claims Act, as at least some electronic fee funds constitute government funds.
During the period when the repayment request was presented, “the government transferred more than $100 million from the Treasury to a pool of funds used to pay electronic fee subsidies,” she wrote. “That is enough to allow lawsuits that create a ‘claim’ under the law and advance fraud. ”
“The government was not a passive passage for sending electronic fees from one private party (carrier) to another private (management company),” Kagan wrote.
“Government activities were not limited to “promoting” such relocations as Wisconsin Bell has,” she added.
The Supreme Court confirmed the 7th Circuit’s decision and sent the case back to that court “for further cases that are consistent with this view.”
