The Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act
The Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (Virginia Code §8.01-216.1 et seq.)
The Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act protects the Commonwealth’s fisc by imposing liability on anyone making a knowingly false or fraudulent claim to the Commonwealth for money or property. The statute imposes treble damages, civil penalties, attorney’s fees, and costs on those who violate its terms.
Perhaps most important, any “person” with first-hand information about false claims or fraud against the Commonwealth of Virginia can hire their own qui tam counsel, and prosecute a case in the name of the Commonwealth. Such individuals are called “relators” in the language of the statute, and they are entitled to receive anywhere from 15 to 30 percent of the Commonwealth’s recovery.
K&G Law Group Partner Zachary Kitts has handled a number of ground-breaking cases under the VFATA.
K&G Law Group partner Zachary Kitts has handled a number of ground-breaking cases, including the very first non-intervened, non-healthcare state qui tam case under the VFATA; for nearly ten years he held the record for the largest non-health care recovery under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act.
Zach was also the principal architect of the comprehensive 2011 amendments to the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act. The changes made during that legislative session included an expansion of VFATA’s anti-retaliation provisions to include employees of state and local governments, and in 2013 our firm obtained the first jury verdict on behalf of a former employee of the City of Alexandria.
Zach was counsel in the ground-breaking case captioned Commonwealth of Virginia ex rel. FX Analytics v. Bank of New York Mellon which was resolved in 2012.
Zach is also the author of a widely-read blog dedicated to the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act and to qui tam practice in Virginia. His knowledge of and expertise with state false claims act legislation has led a number of state legislators and Attorney Generals to invite him to testify in support of their false claims act legislation, including Maryland, Ohio and Arizona.
In addition, Zach has handled cases under the state false claims acts of various other states, including California and North Carolina among others. To date, Zach’s false claims/qui tam practice has returned more than $67 million $79 million $104 million to state and federal government coffers.
To learn whether you might have a case under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, please give our firm a call 703-649-5500 or click here.