The federal government has sued New York City, saying it ripped off Medicaid for millions of dollars by submitting tens of thousands of false claims.

A civil lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed Monday in Manhattan federal court.

The lawsuit says the city and a computer company used computer programs to dodge a requirement that Medicaid be billed only after private insurance coverage is exhausted. The lawsuit says false diagnosis codes were submitted to Medicaid.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (bahr-AHR’-ah) says the city’s aim was to get paid by Medicaid as quickly and as much as possible.

The city’s law office says in a statement it strongly disagrees with the claims and the city acted appropriately. It says the case involves “technical billing issues, not fraud.”

(AP)