For media inquiries only, contact: Brian J. Gottstein
Email: bgottstein@oag.state.va.us (best contact method)
Phone: 804-786-5874
Statement on Va. Supreme Court ruling in University of Virginia CID case
RICHMOND (March 2, 2012) -- The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled today that the University of Virginia and all other state agencies cannot be served with civil investigative demands which compel agencies to provide information for fraud investigations involving government funds.
Although the court recognized Virginia's Fraud Against Taxpayers Act contains "functional inconsistencies" on the issue, in its ruling, the court said that the university and other state agencies are not considered "persons" under the act. In doing so, the court explicitly recognized that in some instances in the act, the term "person" will "always [be] construed to include Commonwealth agencies" such as the University of Virginia, while in other instances, it will not.
"From the beginning, we have said that we were simply trying to review documents that are unquestionably state property to determine whether or not fraud had been committed. Today, the court effectively held that state agencies do not have to provide state-owned property to state investigators looking into potential fraud involving government funds," said Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
Consistent with the court's opinion, the attorney general's office will move to dismiss the CID case still pending in Albemarle County Circuit Court.
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A copy of this news release may be found on the attorney general's web site here.
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