Whistleblower Sues George Washington University for Retaliation

John Lombardi has filed a lawsuit against his previous employer, George Washington University (GW), for unlawful termination in connection with his attempts to blow the whistle on GW’s contract fraud on the Department of State.

GW obtained subcontracts through Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for orders related to the federally funded Global Anti-Terrorism Training Assistance project, for which Lombardi was to be the Principal Investigator.  According to the complaint, GW allegedly attempted to engage in a “bait-and-switch” on SAIC and the federal government by replacing Lombardi as the Principal Investigator on certain contracts without notifying SAIC or the government that other, unqualified individuals would be performing the tasks.  The scheme would have resulted in federal tax dollars being used to pay a Principal Investigator that was not qualified, nor agreed upon in the contract.  Lombardi claims that when he tried to bring the matter to the attention of GW’s General Counsel, he was ignored, then his pay reduced, and finally his employment was terminated.

Lombardi filed the suit under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private parties with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery.  The False Claims Act also prohibits retaliation against the whistleblower.  Lombardi will be eligible for a share of the recovery should he prevail.

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.