United States ex rel. Michaels v. Agape Senior Community, Inc.

KING, Circuit Judge:

In this qui tam action under the False Claims Act (the “FCA”), defendant Agape Senior Community, Inc., and the twenty-three other defendants (collectively, “Agape”) are affiliated entities that operate elder care facilities throughout South Carolina. 1 The relators, Brianna Michaels and Amy Whitesides, are former Agape employees who allege that Agape fraudulently billed Medicare and other federal health care programs for services to thousands of patients — services that were not actually provided, or that were provided to patients who were not eligible for them. The United…