Pricing Fraud Archives - Page 3 of 4

May 13, 2019

Silicon Valley-based software company Informatica LLC will pay $21.57 million to resolve allegations that it provided false information about its commercial pricing and discounting practices that was then used in negotiations for Multiple Award Schedule contracts with the General Services Administration. In addition, Informatica was alleged to have caused sales to the U.S. in violation of the Trade Agreements Act. The whistleblower, a former employee of Informatica, will receive $4.3 million from the settlement. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud, Trade Agreements, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Fraud in GSA Contracts: How to Report it Under the False Claims Act for a Whistleblower Reward

Posted 05/13/19

Federal government offices purchase all the products and services any office does:

Office supplies,
Telecommunications equipment and services,
Computer hardware and software,
Consulting services,
Vehicles,
Travel services,
and so on.

The General Services Administration is the centralized procurement arm for the federal government, overseeing tens of billions of dollars in procurement...

Tagged in: FCA Federal, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud, Set-Asides and Preferences, Trade Agreements, Whistleblower Answers,

February 8, 2019

In connection with alleged fraud on a multi-billion dollar Department of Energy contract, the United States has filed a False Claims Act complaint against Mission Support Alliance LLC (MSA), Lockheed Martin Services Inc. (LMSI), Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMC) and Jorge Francisco Armijo, currently VP of LMC but formerly president of MSA. The complaint alleges that defendant LMSI violated the FCA by submitting false statements about its profits to order to inflate its billing rate. The complaint also alleged that, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Act, defendant LMC paid Armijo and other MSA executives more than $1 million in order to win a $232 million subcontract to clean up the Hanford nuclear waste site in Washington State. DOJ; USAO EDWA

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Contract Non-Compliance, Environmental Fraud, FCA Federal, Pricing Fraud,

November 5, 2018

The owner of WOW Imaging Products LLC and Time Enterprises LLC pled guilty to defrauding government agencies of approximately $3.5 million over the course of six years. Beginning in 2011, Jim A. Meron allegedly profited substantially from office products his companies sold to federal agencies through sales portals run by the General Services Administration (GSA) and Department of Defense (DoD). Although Meron’s government clients placed orders for premium products, he often sent products that cost a fraction of what they paid, pocketing the difference in price. In addition to forfeiting $1.7 million in assets, Meron now faces a maximum of 20 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines; his sentencing is scheduled for February 2019. USAO EDCA

Tagged in: Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud,

October 15, 2018

Alpha Research & Technology, Inc. (ART) has agreed to pay $1 million to settle False Claims Act-based allegations of defense contract fraud. From 2006 to 2011, the command and control systems provider allegedly submitted inflated subcontractor pricing proposals to contractors who then unknowingly included the false claims in proposals submitted to the Department of Defense. Among the expenses claimed by ART were the personal expenses of co-owners Donne and DeAnne Smith for designing and constructing a luxury home, luxury cars, and luxury getaways. USAO EDCA

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Pricing Fraud,

February 15, 2017

Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation agreed to pay $14.9 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by misclassifying certain costs, resulting in inflated overhead rates paid to the company under various government contracts. DOJ (EDCA)

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Pricing Fraud,

May 31, 2016

Deloitte Consulting agreed to pay $11.38 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it submitted false claims under a General Services Administration contract. In 2000, GSA awarded Deloitte a contract for the provision of information technology services. According to the government, Deloitte failed to comply with price reduction clauses in the contract which required Deloitte to reduce the prices it charged the government if it offered lower prices to specific commercial customers and which resulted in the government paying more for Deloitte’s services than comparable commercial customers. DOJ

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud,

August 11, 2015

Computer Supply company PC Specialists Inc. (d/b/a Technology Integration Group) agreed to pay $5.9 million to settle charges it inflated the price of computers sold through another company to the National Nuclear Security Administration for use at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Specifically, TIG sold Dell computers to Sandia Corporation for resale to the United States under Sandia’s contract with the NNSA. According to the government, TIG knowingly inflated the amounts it charged Sandia by failing to give credits for rebates and discounts it received from Dell as required by its contract. The government’s allegations arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Maverick Granger, a former TIG executive in Albuquerque, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. He will receive a yet-to-be determined whistleblower award. Whistleblower Insider

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

June 30, 2015

VMware Inc. and Carahsoft Technology Corporation agreed to pay $75.5 million to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting their commercial pricing practices and overcharging the government on VMware software products and related services. The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Dane Smith, a former vice president of the Americas at VMware Inc., under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. He will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from a portion of the government’s recovery. Whistleblower Insider

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Pricing Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

October 24, 2014

Boulder, Colorado-based antenna and radio system company First RF Corporation agreed to pay $10M to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated claims for electronic warfare antennas sold to the US Army to combat Improvised Explosive Devices. Specifically, the government alleged that First RF knowingly submitted false data to the Army that misrepresented First RF’s cost to manufacture the antennas, and thereby inflated the price for the antennas and the payments First RF received for them. DOJ

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Pricing Fraud,

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