华盛顿州设立首位首席欺诈预防官：行政令统一五大民生机构防诈、拟把虚假申报法扩至全州
华盛顿州州府 Olympia 位于 Thurston 县。州长 Bob Ferguson 10月27日签署行政令，设立该州首位首席欺诈预防官（Chief Fraud Prevention Officer），并组建全州性的公共资金欺诈预防与问责工作组，统一协调州政府各机构的防诈工作。
首席欺诈预防官专责卫生与公众服务领域的欺诈预防、发现、调查与追回，覆盖州医疗保健管理局（Health Care Authority）以及卫生厅、社会与卫生服务厅、劳工与产业厅、儿童青年与家庭厅等内阁机构。州长办公室表示，这项工作将动用现有资源推进，重点是改善项目完整性、守住联邦拨款。
Ferguson 在声明中说：「华盛顿州认真对待欺诈。在州预算吃紧、联邦政府大幅削减开支之际，守住每一美元比以往任何时候都重要。这项行政令把全州的预防工作统一起来，并加以扩展。」
新职与州审计长办公室分工不同：审计长负责调查欺诈举报与吹哨人投诉、开展绩效审计并提供技术指导；首席欺诈预防官与审计长办公室协作，侧重在内阁机构内把欺诈拦在发生之前。州审计长 Pat McCarthy 对行政令表示肯定，并提到其办公室今年早些时候已设立主任级的特别调查部门。
同步成立的工作组由州长办公室与财政管理办公室（OFM）共同主持，成员来自州长内阁各机构，须在2027年6月30日前拿出一套全州统一的欺诈预防与问责框架，涵盖预防、发现、报告与转交、应对、追回与问责，并就法规修订、执法权限、承包商停权标准、举报机制与吹哨人保护提出建议，还将研究设立面向公众的问责仪表盘。行政令另责成 OFM、企业服务厅、州巡警与刑事司法培训委员会为州雇员开设分级防诈培训。
Ferguson 还宣布，将在下一届立法会期提出州长立法请求，把现行仅适用于医疗补助（Medicaid）的《虚假申报法》扩展到针对华盛顿州政府的一切虚假申报。目前全美有25个州设有普遍适用的虚假申报法，华盛顿州是仅有的五个只设医疗补助虚假申报法的州之一。按拟议安排，违规者可被处以政府实际损失三倍的赔偿及按每起虚假申报计算的民事罚款，执法主要通过吹哨人公益代诉（qui tam）渠道进行，举报人可分得部分罚金，其余归州政府。
Washington Creates First Chief Fraud Prevention Officer in Unified Fraud-Prevention Push
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed an executive order on October 27 creating the state's first Chief Fraud Prevention Officer and a statewide Public Funds Fraud Prevention and Accountability Workgroup to coordinate fraud prevention across state government in Olympia, the state capital in Thurston County.
The Chief Fraud Prevention Officer will strengthen oversight of fraud prevention, detection, investigation and recovery for health and human services programs run by executive cabinet agencies, including the Health Care Authority and the departments of Health, Social and Health Services, Labor and Industries, and Children, Youth and Families. The work will use existing resources, with a focus on program integrity and protecting federal funding.
"Washington takes fraud seriously," Ferguson said. "As we continue to face challenging state budgets and devastating cuts from the federal government, it is more important than ever to protect every dollar. My executive order unifies our prevention efforts across state government and expands them."
The new officer's role differs from that of the State Auditor, who investigates fraud allegations and whistleblower reports and conducts performance audits. State Auditor Pat McCarthy welcomed the order, noting her office created a director-level Special Investigations division earlier this year.
The workgroup, co-chaired by the Governor's Office and the Office of Financial Management, must deliver a statewide fraud prevention and accountability framework by June 30, 2027, and will study a public-facing accountability dashboard. The order also directs several agencies to develop new fraud prevention training for state employees.
Ferguson also announced he will propose legislation expanding Washington's Medicaid False Claims Act to cover all false claims against the state. Twenty-five states have general false claims acts; Washington is one of only five with a Medicaid-only law. Under the proposal, violators would face up to three times the government's actual damages plus civil penalties, enforced mainly through whistleblower qui tam lawsuits.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：华盛顿州议会大厦（Olympia）。Martin Kraft 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Washington State Capitol in Olympia. Photo by Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
