SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — A federal judge Wednesday approved a $57 million settlement resolving the government’s claims against a U.S. Navy contractor accused of widespread fraud in the $1 billion cleanup of a radiation-contaminated shipyard and site of a major redevelopment project.
In a four-page order, U.S. District Judge James Donato, a Barack Obama appointee, said the settlement between contractor Tetra Tech EC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tetra Tech Inc., and the government is “fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the circumstances,” noting no party or person had objected.
Under the False Claims Act, individuals can sue a corporation accused of defrauding the government in the name of the entity or agency that was purportedly defrauded. If successful, the relator can receive a portion of the money received.
Four whistleblowers — relators Elbert Bowers, Arthur Jahr, III, Archie Jackson and Susan Andrews — initially filed the qui tam case in March 2013 on behalf of the government, accusing Tetra Tech EC of falsifying soil tests that were supposed to verify the decontamination of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, a 400-acre site where more than 10,000 homes were slated to be built. In 2016, relators Anthony Smith, Donald Wadsworth and Robert McLean filed similar qui tam actions.
The government intervened in the case in 2018, taking over the primary prosecutorial duties. In its complaint, the government accused Tetra Tech EC of reporting false results from...
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