Government Contracts MonitorFalse Claims and False Statements61-Count Indictment for Falsely Certifying Davis-Bacon Act WagesNovember 20, 2015 A recently-filed indictment highlights the substantial personal liabilities that a company principal may face if the company fails to pay required minimum wages, and particularly if the company submits false certifications to the Government as to the wages paid. U.S. v. Marcus Butler, N.D. Ohio Case No. 1:15 CR 0415. Specifically, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the… Short Take – Don’t Try to Fake Your Set-Aside StatusNovember 2, 2015 The Department of Justice (DOJ) has another message for anyone contemplating setting up a “sham” business to take advantage of procurement set-asides: Don’t do it. The DOJ recently filed a False Claims Act complaint against a Western New York contracting company, two owners and an employee, alleging that they submitted false claims for federal contracts intended for service-disabled,… Short Take: You Can’t Buy a Federal ContractAugust 31, 2015 Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, has agreed to pay $4.8 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Byrd Amendment and the False Claims Act by using federal funds for activities related to lobbying Congress and federal agencies to obtain a renewal of its Management and Operating contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) to operate the Sandia National… Failure to Credit Rebates and Discounts? False Claims Act ViolationAugust 24, 2015 PC Specialists Inc. d/b/a Technology Integration Group (TIG), will pay $5.9 million to settle civil allegations that the company inflated the price of computers sold through another company to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). TIG buys computers and other technology products for resale. For 10 years – from 2003 to 2013 – TIG sold Dell computers to Sandia Corporation for… Short Take: Higher Ed Isn’t Above the LawJuly 20, 2015 Education Affiliates (EA), a for-profit company providing post-secondary professional training at fifty campuses, has agreed to pay the U.S. government $13 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act. The settlement resolves five lawsuits, all of which arose from EA’s allegedly false claims to the Department of Education (ED) for federal financial aid. According to ED, in order to… Short Take: Big Incentive to Blow the Whistle on Small Business Set Aside ScamsJuly 13, 2015 Sansbury and Buechler, former employees of LB&B Associates, Inc., filed suit under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act for false claims allegedly made by their former employer to the government. Specifically, the former employees alleged that LB&B made false statements to obtain contracts through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) 8(a) Business Development Program… Short Take: GSA OIG Report Touts Success in Detecting FraudJune 8, 2015 The General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released its semiannual Report to the Congress detailing its efforts and successes in the important work of detecting fraud and mismanagement within the GSA’s programs and operations. The report, which is required, covers the period between October 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. During this period, the… Short Take: Bad Bonding Bloke Bound for BrigJune 1, 2015 On May 26, 2015, Abel Carreon entered a guilty plea to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme involving surety bonds and government contracts, the Department of Justice just announced. Court documents state that between 2005 and 2011 Carreon defrauded the United States and government contractors, through his company Tripartite Escrow… Frivolous Suits: False Claims Act Retaliation Doesn’t Pay, It CostsMay 11, 2015 Terry Jacobs stole trade secrets from his prior employer, Lambda Research, and was ordered to pay $9.4 million in damages when Lambda sued him. The story doesn’t end there. Two months later, Jacobs sued Lambda under the False Claims Act, alleging that his former employer had defrauded the Navy. The timing is suspect, n’est-ce pas? The trial court, understandably concerned… ShortTake: Prosecutorial Eyes On All Qui Tam ActionsApril 20, 2015 It is always worth repeating developments that impact our readers. As we previously reported here, 2014 was an exceptional year in False Claims Act enforcement, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) announcing a record $5.69 billion in FCA recoveries. In this regard we admonished our readers that 2015 would be even worse – with a notable increase in prosecutorial scrutiny of qui tam… Short Take: Start Me Up - Misusing Government Furnished FuelMarch 30, 2015 On March 27th the Department of Justice announced that Lockheed Martin Corporation will pay $2 million for allegedly overbilling the government during its manufacturing of C-130 aircraft for the United States Air Force. Justice Department Press Release. Lockheed manufactured C-130s for the U.S. Air Force from 2006 to 2013 under contracts where the Government provided Lockheed with up to… Pre-Award Departure of Proposed Project Manager: Is it a False Statement Not to Amend Your Proposal?February 9, 2015 The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently tackled the interesting issue of whether or not an awardee’s failure to modify its proposal prior to award – to reflect the pre-award departure of its proposed Project Manager – represents a false statement under the False Claims Act (FCA). Under the facts presented in United States ex rel. American Systems… |
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