Whistleblowing Prisoner Due $279,000 from False Claims Accord

A Utah prisoner is owed a $279,000 share of a settlement in a False Claims Act case accusing Utah officials of fraudulently obtaining federal grants issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to pay prison guards.

Whistleblower Reginald Williams brought his suit in 2015 claiming the officials had applied for those grants despite lacking eligibility. The federal government filed its own complaint in 2020, which added Utah as a defendant, after investigating Williams’ claims. The federal government and the defendants settled for $1.55 million in 2021. Utah denied any wrongdoing, and resolved the settlement based on an unjust enrichment ...