Pricing Fraud

August 1, 2014

Hewlett-Packard Co. agreed to pay $32.5 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that HP overcharged the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for products between October 2001 and December 2010. According to the government, HP overcharged USPS by failing to comply with pricing terms of its USPS contract, including a requirement that HP provide prices that were no greater than those offered to HP customers with comparable contracts. DOJ

January 14, 2015

Office Depot agreed to pay $68.5M to settle charges in violated the California False Claims Act by allegedly overcharging more than 1,000 cities, counties, school districts and other government entities in California for office supplies. According to the government, Office Depot was required to but did not provide these government entities the lowest prices it was offering other government purchasers. The allegations originated with a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Office Depot employee David Sherwin. Corporate Crime Reporter

Office Depot — Government Contracting Fraud/Best Pricing ($68.5 million).

One of our whistleblower attorneys led the representation of David Sherwin, a former business manager at Office Depot. Mr. Sherwin brought a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against Office Depot alleging the company overcharged over one thousand California public agencies, including schools, for office supplies. According to the complaint, Office Depot promised its public agency customers Office Depot’s “best” pricing when in fact it charged them millions of dollars more than they would have paid under other, more favorable Office Depot contracts. In addition to representing Mr. Sherwin, one of our attorneys also represented numerous public agencies that joined the case. Office Depot ultimately settled the case for $68.5 million, and Mr. Sherwin’s estate received a whistleblower award of $23 million. See LA Daily News for more.