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Certifications

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to certifications as a basis for liability in whistleblower litigation. You may also be interested in our pages:

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December 30, 2019

A defense contractor accused of submitting false claims on a contract with the U.S. Army has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve its liability.  Kansas-based LaForge & Budd Construction Company, Inc., had been tasked with raising the elevation of a dam at the Fort Sill Army Post in Oklahoma.  Although the contract specified that satisfactory fill be used, LaForge defied this by using materials such as pieces of concrete, rebar, and rubble, and then represented to the Army that it had fully complied with the contract's terms and conditions.  USAO WDOK

December 4, 2019

A subcontractor providing logistical services on a U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contract with Anham FZCO has agreed to pay $45 million to resolve criminal obstruction charges and civil False Claims Act allegations.  Anham and Unitrans International Inc. had been accused of failing to comply with contract provisions prohibiting materials used to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan from passing through Iran.  Based on a qui tam suit by whistleblowers Rory Maxwell, John Bush, and Supreme Foodservice GmbH, the two contractors also fraudulently induced contracts with DLA and the Army by falsely certifying compliance with the Iran sanctions and falsely representing the status of another project.  DOJ

December 3, 2019

Weapons manufacturer Capco, LLC has agreed to pay over $1 million to resolve fraud allegations raised by its former quality engineer, James Cole.  According to Cole, from 2016 to 2018, the company knowingly certified that M320 grenade launchers sold to the U.S. Army were manufactured in compliance with contract specifications, when in fact a critical component had been manufactured using the wrong type of steel.  Capco also failed to disclose the issue despite conducting an internal investigation.  For bringing the issue to light, Cole will receive approximately $235,000 of the recovery. USAO CO

Unitrans/Anham - Procurement Fraud/Defense ($45 million)

Constantine Cannon represented multiple whistleblowers in a False Claims Act case alleging Unitrans International and Anham FZCO violated the US sanctions regime against Iran in securing military contracts to provide food and transportation to US troops.  In December 2019, Unitrans agreed to pay $45 million to resolve criminal and civil charges relating to the matter.  Our clients received a whistleblower award of 28.5% of the government's civil recovery.  Read more -- Washington Post, DOJCC.

August 8, 2019

Ambu, Inc. has agreed to pay $3.3 million to resolve its liability under the False Claims Act in connection with allegations that it knowingly sold the government medical supplies that were not in compliance with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA).  Although the TAA only permits government purchases of products from countries with whom the U.S. has a trade agreement, Ambu allegedly sold products from China and Malaysia and falsely certified that they came from compliant countries.  USAO EDPA

August 5, 2019

Nagan Construction, Inc. of New York has agreed to pay $435,000 to resolve a civil fraud suit filed by an unnamed whistleblower, alleging that Nagan underpaid 20 employees working on two projects for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the Department of Labor.  Nagan also allegedly violated the False Claims Act and the Davis-Bacon Act by misclassifying the skilled workers as unskilled workers in required certifications to the government.  As part of the settlement, $242,376 will be distributed to current and former employees.  USAO SDNY

June 19, 2019

Memphis Goodwill Industries has agreed to pay $150,000 for allegedly making false certifications to the federal government in order to qualify for contracts administered by the AbilityOne Commission, which helps create job opportunities for disabled individuals.  Federal regulations required AbilityOne contractors like Goodwill to employ disabled individuals for 75% of its direct labor hours and submit annual certifications attesting to that fact.  Despite submitting certifications attesting to the 75%, Goodwill was found to allegedly employ disabled individuals for far fewer hours.  USAO WDTN

June 11, 2019

Richard Moore, a contractor at the Savannah River Nuclear Site in South Carolina, has agreed to pay $1.6 million to resolve allegations of defrauding the government.  Through his companies, Carolina Sodding Services, LLC and Carolina Enterprises of the Lowcountry, LLC, Moore allegedly violated the False Claims Act by submitting false certifications that his companies were women-owned businesses,[no comma needed] and submitting false invoices for materials that were never provided.  USAO SC

May 31, 2019

A Kansas hospital accused of submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid has agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a qui tam suit by Bashar Awad and Cynthia McKerrigan, with about $50,000 of the recovery going to the whistleblowers.  According to the suit, from 2012 to 2013, Coffey Health System falsely attested to having conducted or reviewed security risk analyses of electronic health records (EHR), which was a requirement under a federal incentive program that pays healthcare providers for adopting certified EHR technology.  USAO KS

February 27, 2019

Tennessee-based skilled nursing facility chain Vanguard Healthcare LLC, along with former executives William Orand and Mark Miller, have agreed to pay upward of $18 million to resolve False Claims allegations of billing Medicare and Medicaid for worthless and "grossly substandard nursing home services." According to press releases, five facilities in the Vanguard network allegedly submitted false claims for reimbursement, despite a litany of failures, including forging nurse and physician signatures, using unnecessary physical restraints on residents, failing to prevent pressure ulcers, failing to provide wound care as ordered, failing to provide standard infection control, failing to administer medications as prescribed, and failing to meet basic nutrition and hygiene requirements. The case is considered the largest case of fraud involving worthless services in state history. DOJ; USAO MDTN