Government Procurement Fraud

June 13, 2017

Egyptian-based construction company Misr Sons Development S.A.E. agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations it submitted false claims in connection with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. Specifically, the settlement concerns USAID-funded contracts for the construction of water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the Arab Republic of Egypt in the 1990s. DOJ

May 31, 2017

Massachusetts-based eClinicalWorks, one of the country's largest vendors of electronic health records software, along with certain of its employees, agreed to pay $155 million to resolve charges the company violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting the capabilities of its software.  The company also allegedly paid kickbacks to certain customers in exchange for promoting its product.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Brendan Delaney, a software technician formerly employed by the New York City Division of Health Care Access and Improvement.  He will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $30 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

April 24, 2017

Georgia-based Energy & Process Corporation agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by failing to perform required quality assurance procedures and for supplying defective steel reinforcing bars in connection with a contract to construct a Department of Energy nuclear waste treatment facility. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Deborah Cook, a former employee of the prime contractor that subcontracted with E&P in the course of building the DOE facility. She will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

March 10, 2017

New York based information technology management software company CA Inc. agreed to pay $45 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by making false claims in the negotiation and administration of a General Services Administration contract.  According to the government, CA provided false information about the discounts it gave commercial customers for its software licenses and maintenance services at the time the contract was negotiated and also violated the price reduction clause in the contract by not providing government customers with additional discounts when commercial discounts improved.  The allegations originated a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Dani Shemesh, a former employee of CA Software Israel LTD.  Shemesh will receive a whistleblower award of roughly $10.2 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery. DOJ

January 23, 2017

Washington River Protection Solutions LLC agreed to pay $5.275 million to settle allegations it knowingly submitted false claims to the Department of Energy for overtime and premium pay and also failed to comply with the contract’s internal audit requirements in connection with work performed at DOE's Hanford Nuclear Site known as the Tank Farms.  DOJ

December 15, 2016

ThunderCat Technology, LLC agreed to pay $1 million to settle civil False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Act, and Procurement Integrity Act claims relating to bid rigging and kickback schemes in connection with six government procurements.  According to the government, ThunderCat solicited or submitted inflated third party bids or “loser bids” during competitions for five government contracts and/or purchase orders awarded by the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and one government contract awarded by the General Services Administration.  In connection with one CBP contract, ThunderCat agreed to pay CPB employees 10 percent of ThunderCat’s profits on the contract in exchange for procurement sensitive independent government cost estimates prior to ThunderCat’s submission of its proposal.  DOJ(EDVA)

November 23, 2016

Bechtel National Inc., Bechtel Corp., URS Corp. (predecessor in interest to AECOM Global II LLC) and URS Energy and Construction Inc. (now known as AECOM Energy and Construction Inc.) agreed to pay $125 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by charging the Department of Energy for deficient nuclear quality materials, services, and testing that was provided at the Waste Treatment Plant at DOE’s Hanford Site near Richland, Washington.  The settlement also resolves allegations that Bechtel improperly used federal contract funds to pay for a comprehensive, multi-year lobbying campaign of Congress and other federal officials for continued funding at the site.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Gary Brunson, Donna Busche, and Walter Tamosaitis, who worked on the Hanford project.  They will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ