Opinion ID: 2974600
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: False Claim (Count 16)

Text: The False Claims Act forbids “mak[ing] or present[ing] to any person or officer . . . of the United States, or to any department or agency thereof, any claim . . . knowing such claim to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent.” 18 U.S.C. § 287. Such a false claim need not be made directly to the government; instead, criminal liability can attach when a false claim is submitted to a private party, who then submits it to the government. United States v. Hebeka, 89 F.3d 279, 283 (6th Cir.) 3 (submitting false Medicare claim to private insurers violates False Claims Act), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 999 (1996). Further, because the False Claims Act prohibits making a false claim, it is irrelevant whether the claim is ultimately acted upon or whether money ever changes hands. Kuehnemund argues that the government failed to present evidence that he initiated a claim in 2003, and therefore the jury lacked sufficient evidence to convict him. Although the record contains claim forms for 2003 in Kuehnemund’s name, he asserts that his insurance agent Matthew DuRussell initiated them on his own and not at Kuehnemund’s direction. Kuehnemund, however, points to no testimony from either DuRussell or himself indicating that DuRussell initiated the 2003 claim form without Kuehnemund’s instruction, so the core of this argument is that Kuehnemund did not sign the forms. However, as the government illustrates, many of his claim forms from other years do not contain signatures, and Kuehnemund collected on claims filed for each of those years. From this evidence, a reasonable jury could conclude that a signature was not necessary to initiate a claim and, correspondingly, that Kuehnemund intended to file the 2003 claim, notwithstanding the lack of a signature. Additionally, Kuehnemund provided no evidence indicating that he repudiated the claim prior to the adjuster’s determination that he had suffered no compensable loss for 2003. From this, a reasonable jury could conclude that Kuehnemund intended to pursue the claim. For all these reasons, Kuehnemund’s conviction on Count 16 must stand.