STATE FALSE CLAIMS ACT: FLORIDA

68.081  Florida False Claims Act; short title; purpose.--

(1) Sections 68.081-68.09 may be cited as the "Florida False Claims Act."

(2) The purpose of the Florida False Claims Act is to deter persons from knowingly causing or assisting in causing state government to pay claims that are false or  fraudulent, and to provide remedies for obtaining treble damages and civil penalties for state government when money is obtained from state government by reason of a false or fraudulent claim.

History.--s. 1, ch. 94-316; s. 1, ch. 2007-236.

68.082  False claims against the state; definitions; liability.--

(1) As used in this section, the term:

(a) "Agency" means any official, officer, commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department of the executive branch of state government.

(b) "Claim" includes any written or electronically submitted request or demand, under a contract or otherwise, for money, property, or services, which is made to any employee, officer, or agent of an agency, or to any contractor, grantee, or other recipient if the agency provides any portion of the money or property requested or demanded, or if the agency will reimburse the contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property requested or demanded.

(c) "Knowing" or "knowingly" means, with respect to information, that a person:

1. Has actual knowledge of the information;

2. Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or

3. Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information.

No proof of specific intent to defraud is required. Innocent mistake shall be a defense to an action under this act.

(d) "State government" means the government of the state or any department, division, bureau, commission, regional planning agency, board, district, authority, agency, or other instrumentality of the state.

(e) "Department" means the Department of Legal Affairs, except as specifically provided in ss. 68.083 and 68.084.

(2) Any person who:

(a) Knowingly presents or causes to be presented to an officer or employee of an agency a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;

(b) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by an agency;

(c) Conspires to submit a false or fraudulent claim to an agency or to deceive an agency for the purpose of getting a false or fraudulent claim allowed or paid;

(d) Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used or to be used by an agency and, intending to deceive the agency or knowingly conceal the property, delivers or causes to be delivered less property than the amount for which the person receives a certificate or receipt;

(e) Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used or to be used by an agency and, intending to deceive the agency, makes or delivers the receipt without knowing that the information on the receipt is true;

(f) Knowingly buys or receives, as a pledge of an obligation or a debt, public property from an officer or employee of an agency who may not sell or pledge the property lawfully; or

(g) Knowingly makes, 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 an agency, is liable to the state for a civil penalty of not less than $5,500 and not more than $11,000 and for treble the amount of damages the agency sustains because of the act or omission of that person.

(3) The court may reduce the treble damages authorized under subsection (2) if the court finds one or more of the following specific extenuating circumstances:

(a) The person committing the violation furnished officials of the agency responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to the person about the violation within 30 days after the date on which the person first obtained the information;

(b) The person fully cooperated with any official investigation of the violation;

(c) At the time the person furnished the agency with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced under this section with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation; in which case the court shall award no less than 2 times the amount of damages sustained by the agency because of the act of the person. The court shall set forth in a written order its findings and basis for reducing the treble damages award.

History.--s. 2, ch. 94-316; s. 2, ch. 2007-236.

68.083  Civil actions for false claims.--

(1) The department may diligently investigate a violation under s. 68.082. If the department finds that a person has violated or is violating s. 68.082, the department may bring a civil action under the Florida False Claims Act against the person. The Department of Financial Services may bring a civil action under this section if the action arises from an investigation by that department and the Department of Legal Affairs has not filed an action under this act.

(2) A person may bring a civil action for a violation of s. 68.082 for the person and for the affected agency. Civil actions instituted under this act shall be governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and shall be brought in the name of the State of Florida. Prior to the court unsealing the complaint under subsection (3), the action may be voluntarily dismissed by the person bringing the action only if the department gives written consent to the dismissal and its reasons for such consent.

(3) The complaint shall be identified on its face as a qui tam action and shall be filed in the circuit court of the Second Judicial Circuit, in and for Leon County. Immediately upon the filing of the complaint, a copy of the complaint and written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information the person possesses shall be served on the Attorney General, as head of the department, and on the Chief Financial Officer, as head of the Department of Financial Services, by registered mail, return receipt requested. The department, or the Department of Financial Services under the circumstances specified in subsection (4), may elect to intervene and proceed with the action, on behalf of the state, within 60 days after it receives both the complaint and the material evidence and information.

(4) If a person brings an action under subsection (2) and the action is based upon the facts underlying a pending investigation by the Department of Financial Services, the Department of Financial Services, instead of the department, may take over the action on behalf of the state. In order to take over the action, the Department of Financial Services must give the department written notification within 20 days after the action is filed that the Department of Financial Services is conducting an investigation of the facts of the action and that the Department of Financial Services, instead of the department, will take over the action filed under subsection (2). If the Department of Financial Services takes over the action under this subsection, the word "department" as used in this act means the Department of Financial Services, and that department, for purposes of that action, shall have all rights and standing granted the department under this act.

(5) The department may, for good cause shown, request the court to extend the time during which the complaint remains under seal under subsection (2). Any such motion may be supported by affidavits or other submissions in camera. The defendant is not required to respond to any complaint filed under this section until 20 days after the complaint is unsealed and served upon the defendant in accordance with law.

(6) Before the expiration of the 60-day period or any extensions obtained under subsection (5), the department shall:

(a) Proceed with the action, in which case the action is conducted by the department on behalf of the state; or

(b) Notify the court that it declines to take over the action, in which case the person bringing the action has the right to conduct the action.

(7) When a person files an action under this section, no person other than the department on behalf of the state may intervene or bring an action under this act based on the facts underlying the pending action.