Bard College Settles False Claims For $4M; Whistleblower Award TBA
Bard College has agreed to pay $4 million in order to resolve allegations that the college violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with the conditions of federal grant money, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced earlier this month.
Bard College, a nonprofit institution with its main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, received funds under the Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program. The settlement resolves allegations that Bard received funds under the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program despite failing to comply with the conditions of the grant.
The settlement also resolves allegations that Bard awarded, disbursed, and received Title IV student loan funds at campus locations before such locations were accredited or before providing notice of such locations to the Department of Education, in violation of applicable regulations and Bard’s Title IV Program Participation Agreements with the Department of Education.
The settlement stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by two former students of Bard’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Paramount Bard Academy in Delano, California (Kern County) pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in the proceeds of the suit. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it did in this case as to some of the students’ claims. The students will receive a percentage share of the settlement in an amount to be determined.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.