Government contractors are held to high standards in the performance of their contracts or services because of the direct impact to government services and taxpayer dollars at stake. Often fraud related to government contractors can negatively impact U.S. servicemembers or public servants who diligently serve our country.
This week we focus on the over $65 million judgment and settlement reached between the Department of Justice and Balfour Beatty Communities LLC (“BBC”) relating to a scheme to defraud the U.S. military in providing housing maintenance services. The settlement includes over $33.6 million in criminal fines, $31.8 million in restitution and a separate $35.2 million False Claims Act settlement that is credited to the overall criminal settlement.
The Fraud Scheme
BBC operated privatized military housing on over forty-five military bases covering the Air Force, Navy, and Army. The scheme centered on BBC falsifying submissions on performance to qualify for performance incentive payments between 2013 and 2019. In many instances BBC either failed to perform maintenance on the private housing or lied about performing maintenance to claim performance incentive payments. The government relied on BBC’s honesty in its submission to approve the performance incentive payments. BBC falsified or manipulated data in property management software and destroyed or falsified resident comment cards to create a false illusion that BBC was performing well and meeting metrics to...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday announced is seeking to fine an immigration attorney who allegedly filed false asylum claims -- the first time the agency has filed such a claim. Home...