Energy & Process Corp. to Pay $4.6M for Alleged False Contract Claims; Whistleblower Award TBD
Energy & Process Corporation (E&P) of Tucker, Georgia, has agreed to pay $4.6 million to resolve the government’s lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act alleging that it knowingly failed to perform required quality assurance procedures and supplied defective steel reinforcing bars (rebar) in connection with a contract to construct a Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear waste treatment facility, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.
The lawsuit alleged that the DOE paid E&P a premium to supply rebar that met stringent regulatory standards for the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication and Reactor Irradiation Services facility in the DOE’s Savannah River site near Aiken, South Carolina, but that E&P failed to perform most of the necessary quality assurance measures, while falsely certifying that those requirements had been met. The lawsuit further alleged that one-third of the rebar supplied by E&P and used in the construction was found to be defective. E&P subsequently replaced some of the defective rebar. The $4.6 million to be paid by E&P to resolve the government’s False Claims Act lawsuit is in addition to the replacement costs incurred by E&P.
The allegations resolved by this settlement arose in part from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act by Deborah Cook, a former employee of the prime contractor that subcontracted with E&P in the course of building the DOE facility. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can sue for false claims on behalf of the government and share in any recovery. The act permits the government to intervene and file its own complaint in such lawsuits, as it did in this case. Cook’s share of the settlement has not been 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.