Two former nurses’ complaints about alleged substandard care and inappropriate billing resulted in $28.1 million in penalties being levied against the former owner of an Illinois nursing home. A federal jury assessed the penalties.

The nurses worked at Momence Meadows Nursing Center in Kankakee, IL, which was owned by Jacob Graff. The nurses said they were fired in 2003 due to their complaints.

The next year, they filed a whistleblower lawsuit. A motion to dismiss was denied in 2007. Ultimately, a nine-day trial took place in February to resolve the issues.

The jury fined Momence Meadows more than $19 million for filing at least 1,700 false or fraudulent Medicaid and Medicare claims. Additional fines were tacked on due to “worthless services” being rendered and billed for, which cost the government about $3 million.