Government Contracts MonitorFraudDon’t Invoice the Government for What You Haven’t DoneNovember 29, 2016 Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a settlement with Bechtel National Inc., Bechtel Corp., URS Corp. (predecessor in interest to AECOM Global II LLC) and URS Energy and Construction Inc. (now known as AECOM Energy and Construction Inc.). In the press release, DOJ announced that the contractors have agreed to pay $125 million to resolve allegations under the… Short Take: Final Rule Consolidates Hotline PostersNovember 2, 2016 Effective October 21, the Department of Defense (DOD) allows federal contractors to consolidate several Hotline Posters required for contracts exceeding $5.5 million that are not procured as commercial items under FAR part 12. The requirement also flows down to subcontractors. The Final Rule modifies DFARS Clause 252.203-7004 (Display of Hotline Posters). Before the Rule was published, this… Short Take: FCA Civil Penalties Adjusted Upward for InflationJuly 5, 2016 The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued an interim final rule increasing the range of penalties for violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §3729 et seq. (FCA). In accordance with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, DOJ has adjusted for inflation the civil monetary penalties assesssed or enforced by DOJ components. As a result, the penalty range for FCA violations has changed from… Short Take: Annual Report on the Status of Federal Suspension and DebarmentJune 19, 2016 Every year, the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) reports to Congress concerning statistics on federal suspension and debarment. The ISDC released 2016’s annual report on June 15. The 10 page release shows that federal agencies completed a total of 918 suspension actions and 1,873 debarments in FY 2015. These figures are somewhat lower than those reported in 2014, when 1,009… Compliance Is a Contact Sport: Communicate with Your EmployeesApril 3, 2016 It’s one thing for a contractor to agree with the importance of compliance in theory, or even to establish a compliance program. But making sure that it actually works is something else entirely. A recently announced civil settlement serves as a reminder that the implementation of your compliance program is at least as important as creating it in the first place. And a key to that implementation… Colorado Construction Contractor Pays $1.8 Million to Settle with DOJMarch 28, 2016 On March 15, 2016, Judge Ketanji B. Jackson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia approved $1,769,294 in criminal penalties and forfeiture for a Colorado construction firm that pled guilty last month to conspiring to illegally obtain federal contracts set aside for small, disadvantaged businesses. At the hearing, Judge Jackson said the sentencing deal between MCC… Short Take: DLA Officials Sentenced to 10 & 7 Years Respectively in Freight-Hauling Contracts Bribery SchemeFebruary 22, 2016 The Justice Department recently announced that a former agent for a large national trucking company has pled guilty to paying bribes totaling at least $120,000 over a six-year period from 2006-2012 to two officials in the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Traffic Office at the Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) in Albany, Georgia. According to the Press Release, the two DLA officials… Sixth Circuit Rejects DOJ “Fairyland” Damages Theory, and Bases False Claims Act Damages on Actual Underpaid Davis-Bacon Act WagesFebruary 16, 2016 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently struck a ringing blow for common-sense, logic and reality in overturning a District Court’s $763,000 damages award in a case involving Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) wage underpayments of only $9,916. United States ex rel. Wall v. Circle C Construction, LLC, 6th Cir. Case No. 14-6150, decided Feb. 4, 2016. The Court flatly rejected what it… FAR Proposed Rule Would Bar Contractor Confidentiality Agreements Restricting Employees and Subcontractors from Reporting Fraud, Waste & AbuseJanuary 25, 2016 The FAR Council has published a new Proposed Rule implementing Section 743 of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), and anticipated successor provisions in future appropriations acts and continuing resolutions, prohibiting the use of appropriated or otherwise available funds for any contract, grant or cooperative agreement with an entity that requires… Short Take: Another Failed Scheme Alleging Work Performed By Minority Owned BusinessNovember 30, 2015 Last week Granite Construction, Inc. (Granite), a publically traded company, entered into a non-prosecution agreement under which it will pay more than $8 million to the federal government and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The agreement resolves a criminal investigation into a disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) fraud scheme perpetrated by Granite’s wholly-owned… Short Take: If The Government Joins In, The Stakes Get HigherNovember 24, 2015 The Department of Justice just announced that it has intervened in a lawsuit in which it is alleged that Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (Inchcape) violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly overbilling the U.S. Navy for ship husbanding services from 2005 to 2014. The lawsuit was brought under the whistleblower provisions of the FCA by former… 61-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… |
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