Defendants

February 1, 2017

Jackson State University agreed to pay $1.17 million to settle charges it violated the False Claims act by mismanaging National Science Foundation grants.  Specifically, a 2012 NSF audit identified salary and non-salary expenditures by Jackson State that were unallowable, not allocable, and/or had insufficient, inadequate and/or no supporting documentation.  A subsequent NSF investigation determined that, in preparation for the audit, and subsequently in response to the preliminary audit findings, Jackson State fabricated time and effort reports and provided them to the auditors, and in some instances presented inadequate and/or no supporting documentation.  DOJ (SDMS)

January 10, 2017

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will admit wrongdoing and pay a $400,000 penalty to settle charges that it failed to inform bond purchasers of risks to a series of New Jersey roadway projects the bonds were being used to fund. The SEC’s order found that the Port Authority offered and sold $2.3 billion worth of bonds to investors despite internal discussions about whether certain projects outlined in offering documents ventured outside its mandate and potentially weren’t legal to pursue. The Port Authority omitted any mention in its offering documents about these risks to its ability to fund the proposed projects. SEC

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