Ocean Carriers — Government Contracting Fraud/Prohibited Charges.

Two of our whistleblower attorneys led the representation of a whistleblower who brought a qui tam action under the False Claims Act against two ocean carriers alleging they included in their government invoices charges specifically disallowed under the government contract. The ocean carriers did not have direct contracts with the government and submitted their invoices to parties who in turn presented them to the Department of Defense. Although the government declined to intervene because of uncertainties created by the lack of direct interaction between the defendants and the United States, our whistleblower lawyers pressed ahead, defeating multiple motions to dismiss and aggressively moving forward with discovery. The action settled with both defendants, and the whistleblower was awarded 28% of the government’s recovery. See Pacific Business News and Ship and Bunker News for more.

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Rewards,