A federal district court in New York City must now reconsider part of its decision to dismiss a former employee whistleblower’s complaint that AECOM fraudulently billed the U.S. Army under a $1.9-billion contract it held for maintenance and support in Afghanistan, the U.S. appeals court in New York ruled Nov. 19.
At issue is whether the fraud claimed by the whistleblower, Hassan Foreman, an AECOM finance supervisor, was “material” under the federal False Claims Act—since the company was not penalized by the Army for the alleged fraudulent actions, which he claimed included improper billing and purchasing .
The appeals court said the district court, in two 2020 dismissals of the claim, improperly used a document that had not been introduced in court previously to analyze “materiality” in the whistleblower’s complaint.
“In reaching this conclusion, the district court considered multiple reports outside of the complaint on the basis that they were either incorporated by reference into, or integral to, the complaint,” the appeals court said.
Specifically, the court said it was improper for the lower court to consider a September 2014 Defense Contract Audit Agency report, which was used to conclude that AECOM’s false representations about its labor billing practices, person-hour utilization rate and tracking of government property were not material to the case, because the government was aware of the company’s violation of its contract but continued to pay the contractor and...
KUALA LUMPUR: Two senior officers from the Survey and Mapping Malaysia Department (Jupem) are expected to be charged over allegations of abuse of power next week, says Tan Sri Azam Baki. The duo we...