SAIC Settles Contract Fraud Claims for $5.75M; Whistleblower to Get $977.5K

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has agreed to pay the U.S. government $5.75 million to settle allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims under a contract with the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month.

In 2006, GSA awarded a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to SAIC for professional engineering and consulting services related to the study and evaluation of new products and emerging technologies.  The government alleged that SAIC personnel provided false information to GSA contracting officials to induce them to award the BPA to SAIC.  In particular, the government alleged that SAIC caused Lt. Colonel Steve Stallings (ret.), allegedly an agent of SAIC, to falsely represent himself as an employee of the Senior Executive Staff of the Department of Defense and the Director of another federal agency.  As a result, SAIC received federal funding it would not otherwise have received, had the company not provided false information to procure the contract.

The lawsuit was originally filed by Richard Ferner, a retired Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act.  The False Claims Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery.  Ferner will receive $977,500 as his share of the settlement.

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.