Archive

April 2, 2018

Utah construction companies Big-D Construction Corp. and Creative Times Day School, Inc. agreed to pay roughly $1 million and $150,000 respectively to settle claims they violated the False Claims Act by violating the terms of a Small Business Administration (SBA) program for small and disadvantaged businesses. DOJ (Utah)

March 29, 2018

Dow Chemical Company agreed to pay $479,000 to settle allegations that former Dow subsidiary Poly-Carb, Inc. violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent materials certifications related to a federally-funded highway resurfacing project. DOJ (SC)

March 15, 2018

Japanese-based Toyobo Co. Ltd. and its American subsidiary Toyobo U.S.A. Inc. agreed to pay $66 million to resolve claims they violated the False Claims Act for selling defective Zylon fiber used in bullet proof vests that the United States purchased for federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. According to the government, Toyobo knew that Zylon degraded quickly in normal heat and humidity, and that this degradation rendered bullet proof vests containing Zylon unfit for use. But Toyobo nonetheless actively marketed Zylon fiber for bullet proof vests, published misleading degradation data that understated the degradation problem. The settlement is part of a larger investigation of the body armor industry’s use of Zylon in which the government previously recovered more than $66 million from 16 entities involved in the manufacture, distribution or sale of Zylon vests. The allegations surrounding this settlement originated under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by law enforcement officer Dr. Aaron Westrick, who is now a Criminal Justice professor at Lake Superior University. He will receive a whistleblower award of $5,775,000 from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

March 12, 2018

Virginia-based trucking company Beam Bros. Trucking Inc. and its principals Gerald and Garland Beam agreed to pay roughly $1 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act through the company's overcharging the U.S. Postal Service on contracts to transport mail. According to the government, Beam Bros. misused government Voyager Cards, provided by USPS to purchase fuel, to purchase fuel on contracts that did not allow for their use, resulting in inflated charges. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by former Beam Bros. employee Bobby Blizzard. He will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

March 9, 2018

San Diego communications company TrellisWare Technologies, Inc. agreed to pay roughly $12.2 million to settle claims it violated the False Claims Act by entering into multiple Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) contracts with government defense agencies for which it was ineligible. DOJ (SDCA)

March 8, 2018

Mark Miller, a former employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers based in Afghanistan, was sentenced to 100 months in prison and to forfeit $180,000 and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for soliciting approximately $320,000 in bribes from Afghan contractors in return for his assistance in U.S. government contracts. DOJ

February 6, 2018

Maryland-based Integral Consulting Services, Inc., which provides IT solutions to federal agencies and commercial organizations, agreed to pay roughly $500,000 to settle claims it violated the False Claims Act by inflating certain indirect cost rates in connection with work performed on a Department of the Army contract. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $92,000 from the proceeds of the government’s recovery. DOJ (MD)

February 9, 2018

Maryland announced the State has reached a settlement with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), a State contractor to the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), to resolve litigation between CSC and the State. CSC will pay the State $81 million. The settlement resolves disputes stemming from a major IT contract entered into between MDH and CSC. The contract, called the Medicaid Enterprise Restructuring Project (MERP), required CSC to develop and implement a new computer system for the State Medical Assistance Program, or Medicaid. Once the new system was established, CSC would also help operate the system. The computer system is responsible for administration of the State Medicaid program, including the processing of approximately $10 billion paid out to Medicaid providers each year. MD

January 10, 2018

Kentucky moving companies Lynn  Moving and Storage, Inc., Shadowens Moving and Storage Company, Inc., and E-Town Moving and storage, Inc., along with their individual owners, agreed to pay roughly $265,000 for violating the False Claims Act by systematically overbilling the United States Army for shipping costs associated with deploying and/or relocating United States Service personnel.  According to the government, the companies caused false, inflated weight tickets to be created to increase the weight of the shipments and the amount of payment to the companies by the military. DOJ (WDKY)

January 11, 2018

California announced a $102 million settlement with BP Energy Company and affiliates (BP) over allegations that it intentionally overcharged the State of California for natural gas that the State purchased under three successive contracts from March 2003 to August 2012. The contracts allowed the California Department of General Services, which buys natural gas for numerous state agencies and political subdivisions, to cap the price it would pay BP for specific volumes of gas. BP regularly quoted and charged the State of California prices that violated this cap and concealed its overpricing by providing false and misleading information. These acts constitute violations of the California False Claims Act. CA