Whistleblower Collects Millions

A woman and her lawyer have been paid $29.1 million as a reward for blowing the whistle on healthcare fraud at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.

“It’s pretty overwhelming,” said Evelyn Knoob of Carterville. “I’m relieved that it’s finally settled.”

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois agreed last summer to pay $144 million to settle allegations that managers at its Marion office lied to auditors, destroyed documents and mishandled claims.

Knoob, who worked for the company’s Marion office, and attorney Ronald Osman of Marion, got more than the minimum whistle-blower payment, which would have been 15 percent of the civil penalty, or $21 million.