Archive

September 11, 2020

The Scripps Research Institute will pay $10 million to settle claims that overcharged the National Institutes of Health under research grants. Under the terms of the grants, recipients may only use grant funds on tasks that specifically relate to the funded project. Defendant was alleged to have an inadequate system for tracking researcher time and expenses, resulting in improper charges to the government for costs unrelated to funded projects, including time spent writing new grant applications, teaching, and engaging in other administrative activities. Former Scripps employee Thomas Burris, Ph.D., will receive $1.75 million as a whistleblower reward. DOJ; USAO MD

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

June 30, 2020

The University of Virginia will pay $1 million to resolve claims that it received rebates and credits on the purchase of materials and failed to account for those rebates and credits and reduce charges to the federal government in connection with federal grants and awards the university received. USAO EDVA

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud,

May 22, 2020

The University of San Francisco has agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve allegations of knowingly presenting false and fraudulent claims in order to obtain federal grants under the AmeriCorps State and National Program to support its San Francisco Teacher Residency Program, which supplements tuition and living expenses for teacher apprentices working within the local school district. The government’s investigation, triggered by a whistleblower’s qui tam complaint, revealed that over 1,500 timesheets had been falsified and 61 awards had been falsely certified between 2014-2016, netting the university’s program and students over $1.7 million in grants. USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Certifications, FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

April 27, 2020

Following a self-disclosure by Harvard University, the university will pay $1.36 million to resolve allegations that its T.H. Chan School of Public Health overstated the time and effort spent on certain NIH grants managed by professor Donna Spiegelman. The government alleges that Professor Spiegelman and her team inappropriately distributed their time across all grants for which they provided statistical support, without accurately accounting for the time they actually spent on particular grants and, further, that the university knew or should have known about the overcharges. USAO Mass

Tagged in: Falsifying Invoices, FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud,

April 15, 2020

Rice University in Texas has agreed to pay more than $3.7 million to settle claims of improperly charging unrelated expenses to National Science Foundation (NSF) research and development awards, in violation of the False Claims Act. From 2006 to 2018, Rice University allegedly falsely certified that they were complying with NSF award terms and conditions, when in fact they were knowingly and improperly charging graduate students’ teaching stipends and unrelated administrative charges to the grants. USAO SDTX

Tagged in: Certifications, FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud,

January 7, 2020

After self-disclosing to the government about grant accounting errors in 2011, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has agreed to pay back $4.5 million in excess funds received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The errors had been in effect between two different periods, from 2007 to 2011 and from 2014 to 2017, and had caused the University to inadvertently charge salary costs to grants after the grant terms had ended. USAO MDNC

Tagged in: Accounting Fraud, Grant and Research Fraud,

December 19, 2019

Michigan-based biomedical research organization the Van Andel Research Institute will pay $5.5 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for National Institutes of Health funding when it failed to disclose that two of its researchers had received grants from the Chinese government, and took additional steps to conceal that funding, including making misrepresentations about that Chinese funding in response to the NIH. USAO WD MI

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Programs Fraud, Grant and Research Fraud,

November 25, 2019

Two entities agreed to pay a total of $1.2 million to resolve claims that the Puerto Rico Municipality of Sabana Grande improperly subcontracted work to be performed under a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education to the Puerto Rico Department of Education for teacher training. The grant required that the work could not be performed by private entities, but the municipality subcontracted with and disbursed grant funds to private entity the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (COPUR), which further subcontracted with the company Administrative, Environmental and Sports Consultants (AESC). The municipality will pay $500,000, and COPUR agreed to pay $700,000. In addition, the United States seized more than $1 million from bank accounts belonging to AESC owner Irving Riquel Torres in connection with related criminal proceedings against him. USAO PR

Tagged in: Criminal Proceedings, Defendants, Education Fraud, FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud,

October 7, 2019

Following self-disclosure in 2017 and a subsequent government investigation, Drexel University has agreed to pay $189,062 to resolve its potential liability under the False Claims Act in connection with misused grants funds from the Department of Energy, the Department of the Navy, and the National Science Foundation. Over the course of ten years, the head of the university’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dr. Chikaodinaka D. Nwankpa, improperly spent funds from eight federal grants on personal expenses, including gentlemen clubs and sports bars. Dr. Nwankpa eventually agreed to repay $53,328 to Drexel and resign from his position, while Drexel has since implemented policies to prevent similar misconduct. USAO EDPA

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud,

May 21, 2019

DeKalb County, Georgia has agreed to pay the federal government $750,000 to settle claims that the county misused Department of Labor On-the-Job Training program grant funds. OTJ funds are required to be used to reimburse employers that hire individuals with identified skills gaps. The government alleged that DeKalb county falsely certified that it was complying with OTJ regulations, and used the funds to subsidize the wages of highly qualified county employees, allegedly requiring some to sign paperwork saying that they had received OTJ services when they had not. USAO ND GA

Tagged in: Defendants, FCA Federal, Grant and Research Fraud,

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