Sevenson Settles False Claims for $2.72M

Sevenson Environmental Services has agreed to pay $2.72 million to settle allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to the federal government by accepting kickbacks, rigging bids, and passing inflated charges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in connection with work performed at the Federal Creosote Superfund Site in Manville, N.J., the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Sevenson solicited and accepted more than $1.6 million in kickbacks from six companies in exchange for the award of subcontracts for work at the Federal Creosote Site.  It also resolves allegations that Sevenson conspired with the subcontractors to pass the majority of those kickbacks to the EPA and that it conspired with one subcontractor to pass to the EPA additional inflated charges for soil disposal. 

The False Claims Act allows private parties with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery.  Had there been a whistleblower in this case, he or she would have been entitled to up to 30 percent 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.