News Flash: Whistleblower Collects Over $800,000 Of $8.9 Million Fraud Settlement

Cigna Corp. has agreed to shell out $8.9 million to settle a government fraud lawsuit triggered by an employee’s allegation of over-billing. The employee had disclosed that Connecticut General Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Cigna, was overcharging the Health Care Financing Administration for photocopy charges. The employee claimed that when the company made two-sided copies, it would charge for two pieces of paper. The cost quickly mounted up because the company billed the government for about 36 million sheets of paper every year. The employee will receive $840,000 of the settlement for bringing the problem to the government’s attention.