The New Hampshire False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to report fraud and recover 15-30% of the proceeds in a successful qui tam action
An individual may bring a civil action for a violation of the NH False Claims Act on behalf of the state, if the defendant (1) has its principal place of business in NH or (2) received at least 10% of its total health insurance reimbursement from the Medicaid program in the year prior to the filing of the lawsuit.
In the case of a successful action, the whistleblower is entitled to 15%-30% of proceeds or settlement of the claim. In addition, the whistleblower shall receive an amount for reasonable expenses incurred during the case, attorney’s fees, and costs of the case. The NH False Claims Act also protects whistleblowers against retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
NH False Claims Act—N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 167:61-b through 167:61-e—imposes liability on any person who:
- Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to an officer or employee of the department, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval.
- 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 the department.
- Conspires to defraud the department by getting a false or fraudulent claim allowed or paid.
- Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the department and, intending to defraud the department or willfully to conceal the property, delivers, or causes to be delivered, less property than the amount for which the person receives a certificate or receipt.
- 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 the department.
- Is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of a false claim to the department, who subsequently discovers the falsity of the claim, and fails to disclose the false claim to the department within a reasonable time after discovery of the false claim.
Such violators shall be liable to the state for a civil penalty of $5,000 – $10,000, plus 3 times the amount of damages that the state sustains because of the act of that person.
