Government Procurement Fraud

June 10, 2021

Avis Budget Group Inc. and its wholly-owned brands—Avis Car Rental, Budget Car Rental, and Payless Car Rental—have agreed to a $10.1 million settlement to resolve allegations of overcharging the United States on rental cars, in violation of the False Claims Act.  According to the government, between 2014 and 2019, Avis submitted false claims and received payment for improper charges, including those that were already included as part of the government rental rate and unallowed supplemental costs such as insurance coverage and late turn-in fees.  USAO NJ

June 7, 2021

An engineering firm in North Carolina, Contech Engineered Solutions LLC (Contech), has been ordered to pay $7 million in criminal fines and over $1.5 million in restitution to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).  Contech admitted that it conspired to rig bids and defraud the NCDOT, fraudulently obtaining contracts over a ten-year period.  DOJ charged a former Contech executive, Brent Brewbaker, as a co-defendant.  Brewbaker remains under indictment.  DOJ

June 4, 2021

Mark Sand & Gravel Co., a contractor on federally-funded road construction projects administered by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle claims under the federal and Minnesota False Claims Acts.  On three separate projects, Mark Sand & Gravel allegedly failed to follow contract specifications, used substandard gravel materials without authorization, and made false claims and statements regarding those materials.  USAO MN

June 4, 2021

Virginia-based 360 Patriot Enterprises, LLC and its former minority shareholder, Delaware-based 360 Ventures LLC have agreed to pay $1.12 million to resolve allegations that they fraudulently obtained two U.S. Army contracts intended for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB).  At the time the contracts were awarded (between 2015 to 2017), 360 Patriot was not controlled by a qualified SDVOSB.  USAO EDVA

June 3, 2021

A Department of Energy (DOE) prime contractor responsible for cleaning up a decommissioned nuclear production complex in Washington State has agreed to pay over $3 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations involving false and fraudulent small business subcontract reports.  Whistleblower Salina Savage and her company, Savage Logistics LLC, had alleged that CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) knowingly misrepresented two of its subcontractors, Indian Eyes, LLC and Phoenix-ABC A Joint Venture, as businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) in order to meet contract requirements and obtain reimbursements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars from DOE.  As a result of bringing a successful enforcement action, Savage and her company will receive a relator’s share of approximately $865,000.  USAO EDWA

June 2, 2021

Pennsylvania-based fuel distributor Naughton Energy Corporation and two of its owners, Mariette and Joseph Naughton, have agreed to pay $692,000 over the next five years to settle claims of causing false claims to be submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOT).  As a subcontractor on the federally funded New NY Bridge Project, Naughton Energy, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), had represented to the prime contractor that it could deliver fuel to the worksite wholly independently.  However, lacking the requisite vehicle and employees to deliver fuel, and without the knowledge of the prime contractor, Naughton Energy arranged for a non-DBE subcontractor to supply the missing components in exchange for half of its profits from the project.  USAO SDNY

May 27, 2021

Navistar Defense LLC, a manufacturer of military vehicles, will pay $50 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it fraudulently induced the U.S. Marine Corps to enter into a contract modification at inflated prices for a suspension system for armored vehicles known as Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.  During negotiations for the modification, Navistar was asked to provide certain sales information to assess the reasonableness of Navistar’s proposed prices.  The U.S. alleged that Navistar provided the government with fraudulent sales invoices to justify the company’s prices, and that the government relied on these invoices during negotiations.  The investigation was initiated by a qui tam complaint filed by whistleblower Duquoin Burgess, a former Government Contracts Manager for Navistar, who will receive $11,060,000 from the settlement.  DOJ

April 29, 2021

California-based Tungsten Heavy Powder, Inc. (THP) has agreed to pay over $5.6 million to resolve a qui tam lawsuit by former employee Gregory Caputo and Global Tungsten & Powders Corporation.  In violation of the False Claims Act, THP allegedly falsely certified that certain defense articles procured by the Israeli government and financed by U.S. grant funds were sourced from and manufactured in the United States, when instead they were sourced from China and manufactured in Mexico.  For bringing the lawsuit, Caputo will receive a 17% share of the settlement proceeds.  USAO SDCA