TN Code § 71-5-182 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 71 - Welfare|Chapter 5 - Programs and Services for Poor Persons|Part 1 - Medical Assistance Act|§ 71-5-182. Violations — Damages — Definitions

  Subject to subdivision (a)(2), any person who:   Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval under the medicaid program;   Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim under the medicaid program;   Conspires to commit a violation of subdivision (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)((B), or (a)(1)((D); or   Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money, or property to the state, or knowingly conceals, or knowingly and improperly, avoids, or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the state, relative to the medicaid program;  is liable to the state for a civil penalty of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) and not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. § 2461 note); Public Law 101-410, plus three (3) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the act of that person.      However, if the court finds that:  The person committing the violation of this subsection (a) furnished officials of the state responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to such person about the violation within thirty (30) days after the date on which the defendant first obtained the information;   The person fully cooperated with any state investigation of such violation; and   At the time such person furnished the state with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced under §§ 71-5-181 — 71-5-186 with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation;  the court may assess not less than two (2) times the amount of damages which the state sustains because of the act of the person.      A person violating this subsection (a) shall also be liable for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any such penalty or damages.     For purposes of this section, “knowing” and “knowingly” mean that a person, with respect to information:  Has actual knowledge of the information;   Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or   Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information, and no proof of specific intent to defraud is required.     “Claim” means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property and whether or not the state has title to the money or property, that is presented to any employee, officer, or agent of the state, or is made to any contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money or property is to be spent or used on the state's behalf or to advance a state program or interest, and if the state provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; or if the state will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded; and does not include requests or demands for money or property that the state has paid to an individual as compensation for state employment or as an income subsidy with no restrictions on that individual's use of the money or property.   “Obligation” means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment.   “Material” means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.   Any person who engages, has engaged or proposes to engage in any act described by subsection (a) may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction in an action brought by the attorney general and reporter. The action shall be brought in the name of the state and shall be granted if it is clearly shown that the state’s rights are being violated by such person or entity and the state will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage pending a final judgment in the action, or that the acts or omissions of such person or entity will tend to render such final judgment ineffectual. The court may make such orders or judgments, including the appointment of a receiver, as may be necessary to prevent any act described by subsection (a) by any person or entity, or as may be necessary to restore to the medicaid program any money or property, real or personal, which may have been acquired by means of such act.