Archive

January 12, 2021

Boeing-owned drone maker Insitu Inc. has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a whistleblower-brought suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act. According to D.R. O’Hara, a former executive at Insitu, the company knowingly submitted cost and pricing data for new parts, but used recycled parts to build drones being supplied to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Special Operations Command on seven contracts. The alleged misconduct ran from 2009 to 2017. For exposing the fraudulent scheme, Mr. O’Hara will receive $4.6 million of the settlement proceeds. USAO WDWA

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

January 11, 2021

Defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Corporation and its subsidiary, Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, have agreed to pay over $515,000 to settle allegations of submitting false claims for payment. Between 2006 and 2015, Raytheon and Hamilton improperly certified that goods it sold either directly to the government or to suppliers selling to the government were of domestic origin, when in fact they were manufactured in Romania. The false certifications violated the contracts’ domestic-preference requirements, the Buy American Act of 1933, and the False Claims Act. USAO CT

Tagged in: Certifications, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Trade Agreements,

January 4, 2021

Georgia-based ready-mix concrete company Argos USA LLC entered into a settlement admitting that between 2010 and 2016 it conspired to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate the market for ready-mix concrete in Georgia and elsewhere. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, Argos will pay a $20 million criminal penalty, institute a compliance program, and cooperate in ongoing investigations. The unlawful actions included coordinated issuance of price-increase letters, the allocation of specific ready-mix jobs in the coastal Georgia area, the imposition of fuel surcharges and environmental fees, and the submission of bids at collusive and noncompetitive prices. DOJ

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Financial and Investment Fraud, Government Procurement Fraud,

December 31, 2020

Department of Veterans Affairs contractor TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. has agreed to pay $179.7 million to resolve allegations that it improperly retained overpayments received from the VA. TriWest administered portions of VA’s former Veterans Choice Program and its Patient-Centered Community Care Program (PC3), which enable veterans to obtain VA-paid healthcare from private providers. At times, VA allegedly paid TriWest twice for the same services, or paid for services for which TriWest received full or partial reimbursement from other healthcare providers, and TriWest failed to return those overpayments. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Other Government Health Programs,

December 21, 2020

Government contractor Schneider Electric Buildings Americas Inc. will pay a total of $11 million to resolve criminal and civil claims that it overcharged the government on eight separate energy savings performance contracts under which the company was to install energy upgrades including solar panels, LED lighting, and insulation, in federal buildings. The company admitted to wrongdoing including the disguising of unauthorized design costs by charging them to unrelated contract components and the receipt of kickbacks from subcontractors on the ESPCs. $9.3 million of the settlement resolves civil liability under the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Act; $1.7 million is denominated as criminal forfeiture. DOJ

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Criminal Proceedings, Defense Contract Fraud, Environmental Fraud, Falsifying Invoices, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud,

December 16, 2020

Handicare USA, which manufactures and installs patient lift and mobility systems for healthcare facilities, agreed to pay $800,000 to resolve claims that it knowingly provided products to the Veterans Administration that failed to comply with the Trade Agreements Act. A whistleblower tipped the government that Handicare patient lifts installed at VA facilities used parts made in China for the mounting system that secured the patient lift to the ceiling, and took steps to conceal its non-compliance, including by instructing that the products should be installed so that the “Made in China” stamps on metal parts would not be visible. USAO DC

Tagged in: Government Procurement Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Trade Agreements,

December 3, 2020

Workrite Ergonomics LLC and its parent company, Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Co., have agreed to pay $7.1 million to resolve a qui tam suit brought by a former sales manager, Michael Franchek, which alleged that Workrite overcharged the federal government for office furniture purchased under General Services Administration (GSA) contracts. Workrite allegedly failed to provide GSA, and state agencies that relied on GSA's pricing, with accurate information during contract negotiations, and failed to extend lower prices to government customers as required by contract provisions. As part of the settlement, Franchek will receive a relator’s share of $1.27 million. DOJ; USAO NDCA; CA

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

November 20, 2020

Information technology contractor Cognosante, LLC will pay $19 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by overcharging the government under two GSA Multiple Award Schedule contracts. The settlement came after Cognosante disclosed to the U.S. that it provided false information concerning its commercial discounting practices during contract negotiations and, during contract performance, charged the government for labor that failed to meet the qualifications set forth in the contracts. DOJ; USAO DC

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud,

November 3, 2020

Illinois-based charter school management company Concept Schools, NFP, will pay $4.5 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by rigging the bidding process for E-Rate contracts with its network of charter schools between 2009 and 2012 so that its preferred technology vendors received contract awards, despite the fact that they provided equipment at higher prices than those approved by the FCC for equipment with the same functionality. DOJ

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Education Fraud, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud,

October 30, 2020

Eleven asphalt and paving companies operating in West Virginia, including West Virginia Paving Inc., Kelly Paving Inc., American Asphalt & Aggregate Inc., and eight related companies, entered into a settlement to resolve claims that they conspired to monopolize the asphalt and paving market. The alleged anti-competitive conduct increased the cost of road paving paid for by the state and local entities within the state. The settlement, valued at $101.3 million, includes a cash payment of $30.35 million and an additional $71 million in credits that can be applied by the government to work over the next seven years, including work that is already completed but not yet paid for. WV

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Government Procurement Fraud,

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