(a) Except as provided in subsection (d), any person who commits any of the acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) through (9) of this subsection violates this chapter and is liable to the Government for three times the amount of damages that the Government sustains because of the act of that person, the costs of a civil action brought to recover any of those penalties or damages, and for a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 for each false claim for which the person:
(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 this section;
(4) Has possession, custody, or control of public property or money used or to be used by the Government and knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered less than all of that property;
(5) Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used or to be used by Government and knowingly makes or delivers a receipt that falsely represents the property used or to be used;
(6) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from any person who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property;
(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;
(8) Is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of a false claim, subsequently discovers the falsity of the claim, and fails to disclose the false claim to the Government within a reasonable time after discovery of the false claim; or
(9) Is the beneficiary of an inadvertent payment or overpayment by the Government of monies not due and knowingly fails to repay the inadvertent payment or overpayment to the Government.
(b) Proof of specific intent to defraud is not required.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d), the court may assess three times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of the person described in subsection (a).
(d) The court may assess not more than two times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of the person described in subsection (a), and no civil penalty if the court finds all of the following:
(1) The person committing the violation furnished officials of the Government responsible for investigating false claims violations with all information known to that person about the violation within 120 days after the date on which the person first obtained the information;
(2) The person fully cooperated with any investigation by the Government of the violation; and
(3) At the time the person furnished the Government with information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation.
(e) Liability under this section is joint and several for any act committed by two or more persons.
(f) This section does not apply to any controversy involving an amount of less than $500 in value. For purposes of this subsection, “controversy” means any one or more false claims submitted by the same person in violation of this chapter.
(g) This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made pursuant to Workers’ Compensation claims or to the claims, records, or statements pursuant to unemployment claims under the Virgin Islands Code, title 24, chapter 11 and chapter 12, respectively.
(h) This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made pursuant to taxation laws under this title.