Archive

February 28, 2023

Seven defendants who previously pleaded guilty to defrauding a federal program that provides technology to underprivileged schools has been sentenced to up to 4 years in prison each and ordered to pay up to $1 million each in restitution.  Four of the defendants—Peretz Klein, Susan Klein, Ben Klein, and Sholem Steinberg—misrepresented themselves and their companies as vendors to schools participating in the federal E-Rate program, receiving over $14 million in federal funds even though they failed to provide much of the equipment ordered.  Two other defendants—Simon Goldbrener and Moshe Schwartz—misrepresented themselves as consultants who helped schools participate in the E-Rate program, when in fact, they took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from the above vendors to circumvent the bidding process.  A final defendant, Aron Melber, was a school official who falsely certified to having obtained E-Rate-funded equipment and services through a fair and open bidding process.  USAO SDNY

February 13, 2023

Spacelabs Healthcare, LLC has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle claims of violating the False Claims Act by overcharging the Department of Veteran Affairs and Department of Defense between 2014 and 2019.  According to a qui tam suit filed by two former Spacelabs employees, Marci Gebhardt and Christopher Kelley, the company agreed to contract clauses in which they would sell patient monitoring equipment to the government at lower rates.  However, Spacelabs then failed to comply when billing the VA and Defense Logistics Agency.  For their role in bringing a successful enforcement action, Gebhardt and Kelley will share in a $437,500 reward.  DOJ

January 18, 2023

The owner of several construction companies has been ordered to pay $1.75 million and serve over 2 years in prison after being convicted of fraudulently obtaining over $240 million in government contracts set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB).  Michael Angelo Padron had recruited a service-disabled veteran to serve as the companies’ ostensible owner, but he and his business partners retained actual control of all financial and operational decisions, in violation of program rules set forth by the Small Business Administration (SBA).  DOJ

January 12, 2023

Blue Water Shipping U.S. Inc. has agreed to pay $1.89 million to settle claims that one of its former employees billed the government for freight forwarding services that were never performed and charged the government unallowable markups for inland transportation, and imports and exports of ocean and air freight.  USAO NJ

January 4, 2023

The former Minister of Government for Bolivia, Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, was sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison after pleading guilty to laundering over $500,000 in bribes through bank accounts based in Miami.  Prijic had received the bribes from a Florida-based company in exchange for helping them secure a $5.6 million contract to provide non-lethal equipment, such as tear gas, to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense.  DOJ

December 21, 2022

Biotechnology companies iSense, LLC and Specific Diagnostics, Inc., together with their founder Paul Andrew Rhodes, will pay a total of $10.1 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims under grants from the DOD and HHS.  The government alleged that the firms improperly billed for costs incurred by another business, billed for compensation in excess of authorized federal limits, backdated services and cost-sharing agreements, and knowingly presented a backdated agreement to the government. USAO NDCal

December 12, 2022

Medical device manufacturer Coloplast will pay $14.5 million to resolve claims that in its contracts with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs the company overcharged the government and submitted false claims.  Coloplast self-disclosed to the government that in violation of the Trade Agreements Act it misreported country of origin and sold products from non-designated countries, and, in violation of applicable Price Reduction Clauses, failed to provide the government with required discounts.  USAO DC

November 29, 2022

Government contractor PowerSecure, Inc. agreed to pay $8.4 million to resolve claims that it failed to completely and accurately report disclose cost or pricing data in connection with securing a sole source contract for the repair and restoration of Puerto Rico’s power grid following the damage caused by Hurricane Maria.  The government asserted that such cost and pricing data was required by the Truth in Negotiations Act, and that PowerSecure’s failure to provide it violated the False Claims Act.  DOJ

October 26, 2022

Honeywell International Inc. has agreed to pay $3.35 million to settle a False Claims Act case involving the sale of defective bullet proof vests to the government.  Honeywell allegedly sold its patented Z Shield material to a bullet proof vest manufacturer, even though it knew the material was not cut out for ballistic use.  The vests were ultimately sold to multiple agencies through a GSA contract, as well as various state, local, and tribal law enforcement authorities through a DOJ program.  Their failures launched a 10-year investigation and litigation into the issue that ended with this settlement.  In total, the government recovered over $133 million from 17 entities and individuals.  DOJ

October 14, 2022

Illinois Bell Telephone Company, LLC, d/b/a AT&T Illinois, has agreed to pay $23 million under a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a bribery investigation.  As part of the resolution, AT&T Illinois admitted that it paid an ally of former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan $22,500 through a lobbying firm to unlawfully influence legislation favorable to the company.  USAO NDIL