Unum Defrauds US
October 31, 2008
In a Boston court case, Unum, the largest disability provider in the United States, was found guilty of defrauding the country by making customers submit false claims for disability to the SSA. This was done in spite of Unum’s clear knowledge that the customers were not eligible for benefits.
The fraudulent activities of Unum put added pressure on the nation’s ailing security program, leading to unnecessary time and taxpayer money being spent in order to process and subsequently deny the claims.
The case had been presented by Patrick Loughren under the auspices of the False Claims Act. This legislation allows individuals to file suits against companies that are defrauding the federal government and to obtain compensation on the government’s behalf. According to Loughren, Unum’s intimidation tactics to force customers to apply for SSA benefits or else face the loss of private disability benefits is just wrong. The company’s actions were a ploy to make a profit. Loughren had filed the case as a “qui tam” or whistleblower lawsuit back in 2003.
Unum representatives admitted during the trial that the company forced customers to apply for SSA disability over the last ten years. Furthermore, the number of disability claimants numbered at almost 500,000. This figure looks to be the tip of the iceberg as far as Unum’s misconduct is concerned.
The Boston jury rejected Unum’s claim that its policy that forced customers to apply for Social Security benefits was total lawful under the SSA’s open-door policy. Additionally, the court ruled that Unum violated the False Claims Act. Unum’s attempt to justify their actions based upon the supposed conduct of employers regarding group disability benefits was also rejected by the jury.
Due to the findings of this court case, as well as the lengthy coverage received in major newspapers, public officials are requesting information from Unum and other private disability insurers about their practices to determine their lawfulness.
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