Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 1201 – Liability for certain acts
(a) Any person who:
(1) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
(2) Knowingly makes, uses or causes to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim;
(3) Conspires to commit a violation of paragraph (a)(1), (2), (4), (5), (6) or (7) of this section;
(4) Has possession, custody or control of property or money used or to be used by the Government and knowingly delivers or causes to be delivered, less than all of that money or property;
(5) Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used or to be used by the Government and, intending to defraud the Government, makes or delivers the receipt without completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true;
(6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from an officer or employee of the Government who may not lawfully sell or pledge the property; or
(7) 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 Government, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the Government
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 1201
- Claim: means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property and whether or not the Government has title to the money or property, that:
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Document: means :
- Government: includes all departments, boards or commissions of the executive branch of the State, all political subdivisions of the State, the Delaware Department of Transportation and all state and municipal authorities, all organizations created by or pursuant to a statute which declares in substance that such organization performs or has for its purpose the performance of an essential governmental function, and all organizations, entities or persons receiving funds of the State where the act complained of pursuant to this chapter relates to the use of such funds of the State. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 1202
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Knowledge: means a person's actual knowledge of a fact, rather than the person's constructive knowledge of the fact. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- Material: includes anything having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 1202
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Obligation: includes 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. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 1202
- Person: means a natural person, partnership (whether general or limited), limited liability company, trust (including a common law trust, business trust, statutory trust, voting trust or any other form of trust), estate, association (including any group, organization, co-tenancy, plan, board, council or committee), corporation, government (including a country, state, county or any other governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality), custodian, nominee or any other individual or entity (or series thereof) in its own or any representative capacity, in each case, whether domestic or foreign. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
shall be liable to the Government for a civil penalty of not less than $10,957 and not more than $21,916, as adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (28 U.S.C. § 2461, note), for each act constituting a violation of this section, plus 3 times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of that person.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the court may assess not less than 2 times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of the person, if:
(1) The person committing the violation of this subsection furnished officials of the Government 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;
(2) Such person fully cooperated with any government investigation of such violations; and
(3) At the time such person furnished the Government with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, investigation or administrative action had commenced under this title with respect to such violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into such violations.
A person violating this subsection shall also be liable for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any such penalty or damages, including payment of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
(c) The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of all offenses under this chapter.
72 Del. Laws, c. 370, § ?1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 166, §§ ?1-4; 79 Del. Laws, c. 141, § ?1; 81 Del. Laws, c. 438, § 1;