Archive

September 4, 2015

Robert Wingfield and Bill Ma agreed to pay $385,000 and $50,000, respectively, to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a scheme to evade customs duties on imports of aluminum extrusions from China.  Wingfield was the US sales representative for Tai Shan Golden Gain Aluminum Products Ltd., the Chinese company that exported the aluminum extrusions in this case.  According to the government, Wingfield conspired with domestic importers to submit false information to the government to evade duties, and Ma later formed a company, Northeastern Aluminum Corp., to act as the importer of record for the goods in an attempt to shield the real importers from liability.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by James F. Valenti Jr. under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Valenti will receive a whistleblower award of approximately $79,000.  DOJ

August 21, 2015

Wholly-owned Lockheed Martin Corporation subsidiary Sandia Corporation agreed to pay $4,790,042 to resolve allegations it violated the Byrd Amendment and the False Claims Act by using federal funds for activities related to lobbying Congress and federal agencies to obtain a renewal of its Management and Operating Contract with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration to operate the Sandia National Laboratories.  DOJ

June 24, 2015

For-profit education company Education Affiliates agreed to pay $13 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Department of Education for federal student aid.  The Maryland-based company operates 50 campuses under various trade names, including All State Career, Fortis Institute, Fortis College, Tri-State Business Institute Inc., Technical Career Institute Inc., Capps College Inc., Driveco CDL Learning Center, Denver School of Nursing and Saint Paul’s School of Nursing.  According to the government, the company engaged in a variety of fraudulent acts to increase admissions including admitting unqualified students, creating false high school diplomas, falsifying students’ federal aid applications, and referring prospective students to “diploma mills” to obtain invalid online high school diplomas.  The allegations first arose in five whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  As part of this resolution, the five whistleblowers will receive whistleblower award payments totaling approximately $1.8 million.  Whistleblower Insider

March 23, 2015

California-based Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Allianz SE, agreed to pay $44 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by issuing insurance policies that were ineligible under the US Department of Agriculture’s federal crop insurance program and falsifying documents in support of the improper issuances.  DOJ

February 12, 2015

Three importers agreed to pay more than $3M to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by lying to US Customs and Border Protection agents to evade customs duties on imports of aluminum extrusions from China.  The companies, which included California-based C.R. Laurence Co. Inc., Florida-based Southeastern Aluminum Products Inc.and Texas-based Waterfall Group LLC, sell shower doors and shower enclosures made with the aluminum extrusions.  The charges were first raised in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by James F. Valenti Jr. under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  He will receive a whistleblower award of $555,000.  DOJ

December 1, 2014

Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) agreed to pay $4M to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it submitted false claims to the Corporation for National and Community Service concerning AmeriCorps state and national grants. The allegations first arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by MCCCD employee Christine Hunt under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. She will receive a whistleblower award of $775,827. DOJ

October 28, 2014

Columbia University agreed to pay $9M to settle allegations it defrauded the government of grant funding for AIDS and HIV related work. Specifically, the government charged that as the grant administrator for ICAP (formerly known as International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs), Columbia was required but failed to verify for nearly 200 ICAP employees that they performed the work for which they received grant funding. This resulted in Columbia obtaining grants for work that was not actually performed on the project being funded. Whistleblower Insider

May 13, 2014

Student loan company Sallie Mae, and its former student loan servicing arm, Navient Solutions, agreed to pay $100M to settle charges that they violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by overcharging military members for student loans. Whistleblower Insider

November 14, 2013

Basco Manufacturing agreed to pay $1M to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by making false customs declarations to avoid paying duties on products imported from a Chinese manufacturer, and that it has filed a complaint against four other companies and two individuals based on similar allegations. The allegations were first raised in a qui tam lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJ

August 22, 2013

ATI Enterprises Inc. will pay the government $3.7M to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it falsely certified compliance with federal student aid programs’ eligibility requirements and submitted claims for ineligible students. The allegations were first raised in a qui tam lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. DOJ