The nation’s fifth-largest hospital chain has agreed to pay the federal government $65 million to settle a long-running whistleblower lawsuit accusing its founder of pressuring staff to admit patients who did not need inpatient care.

Federal prosecutors on Friday announced the settlement with Prime Healthcare Services, company founder and CEO Prem Reddy and 14 hospitals operated by Prime Healthcare in California on Friday, said lead whistleblower counsel Marlan Wilbanks, of Atlanta whistleblower boutique Wilbanks & Gouinlock.