Attorney General To Establish a New “Taxpayer Protection Unit”

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has announced the creation of a new “Taxpayer Protection Unit” within his office.

The new unit, which will use existing staff resources, “will conduct civil investigations and prosecutions against contractors and public officials who make or use false or fraudulent claims, records, or statements to obtain government money.”

The Attorney General is relying on a 2009 enhancement of the False Claims Act, called the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), which Schneiderman sponsored as a State Senator.  That law gave New York’s Attorney General the authority to pursue  large-scale, multi-state corporate tax fraud schemes, expanded whistle-blower protections, and closed loopholes that made it hard to prosecute corrupt subcontractors.

Schneiderman also announced that he will assign more prosecutors to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), which will be paid for through the state’s share of monies recovered.

Schneiderman also announced that he intends to make more announcements addressing waste, fraud, and corruption in the coming months.

This article from City Hall News provides additional context.