Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 123.djvu/1642

 123STA T . 1 6 22 PUBLIC LA W 111 – 21 —M A Y 2 0, 200 9‘ ‘ (F)knowi n glybu y s, o r r ec ei v es a sa p le d geo f an obliga t ion or debt, public property fro m an officer or employee of t h e G overnment, or a member of the A rmed Forces, who lawfully may not sell or pledge property or ‘‘(G) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to an obliga - tion to pay or transmit money or property to the Govern- ment, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the Government, is liable to the U nited S tates Government for a civil penalty of not less than $5, 0 00 and not more than $ 1 0,000, as ad j usted by the Federal C ivil P enalties I nflation Adjustment Act of 1 9 90( 28 U . S.C. 2 46 1 note; Public L aw 104 – 410), plus 3 times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of that person. ‘‘(2) REDUC EDD AM A G E S . — If the court finds that— ‘‘(A) the person committing the violation of this sub- section furnished officials of the United States responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to such person about the violation within 30 days after the date on which the defendant first obtained the information; ‘‘( B ) such person fully cooperated with any Government investigation of such violation; and ‘‘(C) at the time such person furnished the United States with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had com- menced under this title with respect to such violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the e x ist- ence of an investigation into such violation, the court may assess not less than 2 times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of that person. ‘‘(3) C O S T SO F C IV I L ACTIO N S.—A person violating this sub- section shall also be liable to the United States Government for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any such penalty or damages. ’ ’; (2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the following ‘‘(b) D EFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— ‘‘(1) the terms ‘knowing’ and ‘knowingly’— ‘‘(A) mean that a person, with respect to information— ‘‘(i) has actual knowledge of the information; ‘‘(ii) acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or ‘‘(iii) acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information; and ‘‘(B) re q uire no proof of specific intent to defraud; ‘‘(2) the term ‘claim’— ‘‘(A) means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property and whether or not the United States has title to the money or property, that— ‘‘(i) is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the United States; or