Whistleblower Protection Act | The Contracting Education Academy

February 11, 2019 By cs

Proposed FAR amendment makes whistleblower protections permanent

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is being amended to make permanent a “pilot program” of whistleblower protections established in 2013.

When announcing this move, the government affirmed its commitment to enhanced whistleblower protection for government contractor employees and clarified existing rules.

Whistleblower protections for contractor employees were first added to the FAR as part of reforms mandated by the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. These provisions remained unchanged until September 2013, when an interim rule implemented a four-year pilot program to enhance these protections under contracts with civilian agencies (while temporarily suspending the original provisions). The proposed rule implements Congressional direction to make the pilot program permanent. DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard have their own whistleblower protection system codified in 10 U.S.C. 2409.

Under the pilot program, now being made permanent, a contractor or subcontractor employee who believes he or she was discharged, demoted, or discriminated against for making a covered disclosure may file a complaint with the agency’s Inspector General within three years of the alleged reprisal. The initial whistleblower protection regulations had encompassed only disclosures to a Member of Congress, an authorized agency official, or the Department of Justice of information “relating to a substantial violation of law related to a contract.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=775878

June 15, 2018 By cs

$20 million lawsuit settled alleging contractor falsely overcharged Navy for ship husbanding services

Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Limited and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, Inchcape) have agreed to pay $20,000,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly overbilling the U.S. Navy under contracts for ship husbanding services, the Department of Justice has announced.

Inchcape is a marine services contractor headquartered in the United Kingdom.

Inchcape provided goods and services to Navy ships at ports in several regions throughout the world, including southwest Asia, Africa, Panama, North America, South America and Mexico. Inchcape provided ships with food and other subsistence items, waste removal, telephone services, ship-to-shore transportation, force protection services and local transportation. The lawsuit alleged that from 2005 to 2014, Inchcape knowingly overbilled the Navy for these services by submitting invoices that overstated the quantity of goods and services provided, billing at rates in excess of applicable contract rates, and double-billing for some goods and services.

“Federal contractors may only charge the government for costs allowed by their federal contracts,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will take action against contractors that knowingly submit inflated claims to the armed forces—or any other agency of the United States—as those inflated claims wrongfully divert taxpayer dollars.”

“We trust contractors supporting our warfighters to act with the utmost integrity and expect them to comply with their obligations to bill the government as called for by their contracts,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu. “This settlement reflects our Office’s strong commitment to holding accountable those who violate these fundamental principles, no matter where they may be located.”

“This settlement demonstrates that the Department of the Navy will continue to hold contractors accountable for the agreements they make to supply our fleet,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “The Department expects strict adherence to higher standards within the Department and expects the same from its contractors.”

“Fraud is an abuse of the system that siphons resources away from the American warfighter,” said Jeremy Gauthier, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Washington D.C. field office. “NCIS will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold responsible those who would put personal gain above corporate integrity.”

The lawsuit was brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by three former employees of Inchcape, Noah Rudolph, Andrea Ford and Lawrence Cosgriff. Under the act, a private citizen may bring suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in any recovery. The government may intervene in the case, as it did here. The False Claims Act allows the government to recover treble damages and penalties from those who violate it. As part of today’s resolution, the whistleblowers will receive approximately $4.4 million.

The case was handled jointly by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Columbia, with assistance from the Department of the Navy and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Rudolph v. Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Limited, et al., No. 1:10-cv-01109 (D.D.C). The claims alleged in the case are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/united-states-settles-lawsuit-alleging-contractor-falsely-overcharged-united-states-navy

July 6, 2017 By cs

Congress strengthens whistleblower protections for federal employees

A bill known as the “Follow the Rules Act” was signed into law by President Trump on June 14th. It is a very short bill that may prove to be important to some Federal employees who become whistleblowers.

The bill was introduced by Sean Duffy (R-WI). The purpose of the bill is to extend whistleblower protections for Federal employees who refuse to violate rules and regulations.

If a Federal employee refuses to follow an order to violate a Federal law, the employee is protected from employment retaliation based on the provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. But, if a Federal employee disobeys an order to violate a regulation issued by the Federal government, rather than a law passed by Congress, the Federal employee is not protected. That, at least, used to be the case prior to passage of the Follow the Rules Act.r

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedsmith.com/2017/06/15/follow-rules-act-signed-into-law/

March 23, 2017 By cs

Inside CA Technologies’ $45 million false claims settlement

A long-lasting legal dispute between IT contractor CA Technologies and the federal government reached a conclusion last week, as the Justice Department announced the company agreed to pay $45 million to settle allegations that it overcharged and provided false pricing information to the government.

The backstory of this conflict signifies a more aggressive stance taken by the government in dealing with contractors that mislead the government or bilk taxpayers. Public statements by both DOJ and the General Services Administration’s inspector general further suggest they are more willing than ever to prosecute contractors that play ball unfairly—even if it takes years to do so, as it did with CA.

DOJ contends New York-based CA submitted false pricing data in 2007 and again in 2009 regarding products it sold through the GSA’s Schedule 70, a multiple-awards schedule and large acquisition vehicle federal agencies use to purchase various IT products and services.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/03/inside-ca-technologies-45-million-false-claims-settlement/136231

See earlier article on this subject at: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/2017/03/13/it-firm-agrees-to-pay-45-million-to-settle-alleged-false-claims-on-gsa-contract/

March 20, 2017 By cs

Florida company and its principals pay $320,000 to resolve false claims allegations

A Florida-based company known as People, Technology and Processes, LLC (PTP), along with its principals Victor Buonamia and Nicole Buonamia, have paid the government $320,000 to resolve allegations that they submitted improper invoices for work allegedly performed for the United States in support of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

PTP is an information technology and professional services company. Victor Buonamia is the President and CEO of PTP, and Nicole Buonamia is the CFO. During 2011 and 2012, PTP was a subcontractor to the prime contractor on a government contract awarded by the United States Army Communications-Electronics Command through the Strategic Sources Services (S3) Program.

As a subcontractor, PTP submitted invoices for its services to the prime contractor, who then paid those invoices and, in turn, billed those costs to the United States, which paid them. PTP and its principals were aware that PTP was a subcontractor on a government contract and that PTP’s bills would ultimately be presented to and paid by the U.S. government.

Between November 2011 and June 2012, PTP submitted invoices that were signed by Victor Buonamia and/or Nicole Buonamia for work allegedly done by PTP employees in Afghanistan under the S3 Contract; however, some of that work was not actually performed. Specifically, during that period, PTP submitted invoices for one employee while he was in another country on R&R for a month, billed for another employee for several weeks after PTP terminated him and flew him back to U.S., and billed one or more weeks for two other employees before they actually started working for PTP. In all, PTP improperly billed $127,990.90 for work never performed by those employees.

This settlement resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by relator Aidan Tamer Toprakci in February 2013. That suit was filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which authorizes private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Toprakci was employed by PTP in 2012 and disclosed certain of the conduct internally to PTP. The relator has received $64,000.00 from the proceeds of the settlement.

This case was investigated by the Tampa Resident Agency of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Commands Major Procurement Fraud Unit, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida, and is captioned United States ex rel. Toprakci v. People Technology and Processes, LLC, Victor Buonamia, and Nicole Buonamia, Case No. 8:13-cv-432-T-33-MAP (M.D. Fla.).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/people-technology-and-processes-llc-and-its-principals-pay-320000-resolve-false-claims

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is being amended to make permanent a “pilot program” of whistleblower protections established in 2013.

A bill known as the “Follow the Rules Act” was signed into law by President Trump on June 14th. It is a very short bill that may prove to be important to some Federal employees who become whistleblowers.

A long-lasting legal dispute between IT contractor CA Technologies and the federal government reached a conclusion last week, as the Justice Department announced the company agreed to pay $45 million to settle allegations that it overcharged and provided false pricing information to the government.

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