KBR has agreed to pay $13.67 million to settle a breach-of-contract whistleblower lawsuit. The suit claimed the company violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act related to subcontracts awarded under its completed Logistics Civil Augmentation Program contract with the U.S. Army for base operations logistical support in Iraq. The 10-year contract was awarded in 2001.
The June 13 settlement does not release KBR from criminal liability or individuals from civil liability, the U.S. Justice Dept. said in the agreement.
The lawsuit concerned subcontracts that KBR awarded to two local companies to perform work on its behalf, La Nouvelle Trading & Contracting Co. and First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting Co.
On Dec. 20, 2006, a now former KBR employee, Bud Conyers, filed the complaint in federal court in Texas. Justice later joined the complaint, which alleges that an unidentified KBR employee in 2002 solicited bids for a task order subcontract and rigged the bidding process to justify awarding it to LaNouvelle Trading. The KBR employee accepted several kickbacks from the subcontractor.
“These kickbacks were included within the prices that KBR paid to La Nouvelle and for which it charged the United States under the LOGCAP III contract,” the settlement said.
In 2003, a second unidentified KBR employee solicited bids for a task order contract and awarded it to La Nouvelle at an inflated price. That employee also received a kickback, which was included in the...
Police say Nepal’s rescue fraud case is real, but claims that guides poisoned tourists remain unproven. Nepal’s mountain tourism industry is facing fresh scrutiny after a major investigation into f...