When John Schilling, an unassuming midlevel accountant, joined Columbia Healthcare Corporation-the nation's fastest-growing and revolutionary network of public hospitals-it seemed like the start of an exciting new career with great advancement and earnings potential. He never expected to become the catalyst for the series of "whistleblower" lawsuits that ripped through the healthcare industry in the late 1990s.In Undercover, John Schilling tells the story of his harrowing journey from ordinary citizen and loyal employee to covert FBI informant and top witness for the Justice Department in the largest criminal healthcare fraud case in U.S. history. It began when he stumbled upon evidence-a {dollar}3.5 million accounting "error"-of his company's routine practice of defrauding Medicare. When pressured to comply with stealing from taxpayers, Schilling knew he had to speak up for what he believed was right, regardless of the cost to his job, his reputation, and his family. His courageous choice would consume the next seven years of his life, leading to more drama, angst, turmoil, and money than he could have imagined. Ultimately, Schilling's moral conviction and a little known law, the Fair Claims Act, paid off by forcing the formidable healthcare conglomerate of Columbia/HCA to pay back {dollar}1.7 billion to the federal government.Revealing the personal side of a thankless role, Undercover is a gripping and inspiring account of a long, hard, life-changing quest for justice.

Tags: undercover