ALBANY — The state Environmental Facilities Corp. has agreed to pay a $500,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle allegations that it repeatedly misused funds from a federal clean water grant to pay staffers in former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office.
The investigation grew out of reporting by the Times Union in 2016 and 2017 concerning Cuomo’s extensive payment of Executive Chamber staffers through various state agencies and public authorities — a tactic that obscured the true size and cost of the chamber's payroll.
Those stories prompted an FBI investigation in 2017 that went lasted several years. While the investigation did not result in any criminal charges, U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman's office began pursuing a civil case under the False Claims Act. The $500,000 civil settlement between her office and the EFC was announced on Thursday.
The EFC paid the settlement to resolve allegations that it falsely certified individuals were working in support of a federal water-quality improvement grant when, in fact, they were working for Cuomo in positions unrelated to that funding.
As part of the settlement agreement, the EFC admitted that former senior officials included part of those individuals’ salaries and benefits in federal funding requests made to the federal Environmental Protection Agency — without disclosing that they were working for Cuomo’s office.
In March 2021, the Times Union investigated whether the federal clean water grant was being...
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