February 9, 2012
The federal government has intervened in a False Claims Act suit filed against American Commercial College Inc. (ACC), a West Texas chain of for-profit colleges. The suit alleges that ACC’s certification that it had complied with the “90/10 Rule” was false. The 90/10 Rule is a provision of federal law that prevents a university or college from receiving more than 90 percent of its annual tuition from student aid awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. The law is intended to insure that schools are able to get funding from sources other than the government.
The two original whistleblowers in the suit are former ACC employees, Anthony Delgado and Shawn Clark.
The False Claims Act permits a private citizen to file a lawsuit to inform the government about a fraudulent scheme against it. The government is allowed a certain period of time to conduct its own investigation and decide whether to take control of the lawsuit or to decline the opportunity, in which case the whistleblower proceeds without the government’s intervention. If the government does take over the case and makes a recovery, the whistleblower will receive anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of the recovery. If the whistleblower has to go it alone and wins, his or her share of the government’s recovery is even higher.
Waters & Kraus is a national firm with highly skilled lawyers practicing qui tam litigation in four offices, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and Baltimore. Our attorneys have decades of experience successfully representing whistleblowers in health care fraud cases. Contact us to learn more about our practice and how we can assist.
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