The information came from the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As you might expect, the version filed with the SEC sugarcoats some of the allegations against the firm, which is currently doing business with the city of Kansas City, St. Louis public schools, and is bidding for the state contract for Medicaid information systems.
An article in the May 3, 2006, Washington Times paints a different picture:
Federal authorities have begun a criminal investigation of Maximus Inc. in the wake of a lawsuit claiming that the Reston-based consulting giant overcharged the government tens of millions of dollars while working for the District's foster care agency, unsealed court records and other official files show.
The investigation follows a federal False Claims Act lawsuit that says Maximus lacked proper documentation for most of the more than $30 million in Medicaid claims the company prepared for the D.C. government, starting in 1999.
The article noted claims that were made in a lawsuit filed by former company official Benjamin Turner:
According to Mr. Turner, Maximus was hired to help the city recoup federal Medicaid funds for services for foster children in the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA).
Under the deal, Maximus pocketed 10 cents of every Medicaid dollar it helped the city recoup, eventually netting the company more than $3 million for at least $30 million in Medicaid claims it prepared, according to the lawsuit.
Mr. Turner, who says in the lawsuit that he worked on the billing project, says the Medicaid billing was "grounded in fraud."
"After obtaining confirmation that such services were not performed through a CFSA computer search, and in the majority of instances after contacting the social workers who confirmed the services were not performed, Maximus nevertheless created files that indicated services were performed and used such information to demand Medicaid pay for services not rendered," the lawsuit states.
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