A Minnesota construction and paving company has agreed to pay nearly $1.3 million to resolve allegations it knowingly falsified test results to make its paving material appear to be of higher quality than it was and submitted those falsified results to the state and federal governments in order to receive payment for paving projects in Minnesota.

The United States and the State of Minnesota alleged that between 2017 and 2022 Anderson Brothers Construction of Brainerd, Minn., routinely falsified the results of certain asphalt quality tests it was required to perform on its paving material. It allegedly submitted those results to state and federal governments, which resulted in it receiving financial incentives for better quality paving material and avoiding deductions for lower-quality material.

Of the nearly $1.3-million civil settlement, the federal government will receive $660,761 and the state of Minnesota will receive $634,849.

The allegations came to light after Kacie Dixon, a former bituminous mix technician at Anderson, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2022 claiming that the company had violated the False Claims Act, which prohibits knowingly submitting false or fraudulent claims to the government for payment. The state and federal governments then joined as plaintiffs.

In her lawsuit, Dixon said she observed and documented the "defendant's failure to conduct appropriate tests on appropriate materials; knowing omission of inadequate results to appear passing;...

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