The demand letter from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) tells of some things about the initial scope of the federal government’s investigation into the Washington Bridge failure, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, and its contractors.
Here is a breakdown of some key aspects of the 8-page demand letter.
READ THE FULL LETTER FROM THE DOJ HERE.
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1) Rhode Island Led — Not Washington
The letter was derived from the Rhode Island District of the U.S. Department of Justice — the office headed by Zachary Cunha.
2) False Claim Act investigation
The demand letter by the DOJ to the McKee Administration was filed under the False Claims Act.
One recent False Claims Act in Rhode Island was the DOJ's investigation into the actions by Barletta Heavy Division, the lead contractor on the state of Rhode Island 6/10 project. That action was sparked by a whistleblower, and led to a non-prosecution agreement between the federal government and Barletta, and a payment by the company of $1.5 million.
Presently, Barletta is the lead contractor on the Washington Bridge.
“The False Claims Act [FCA] provides that any person who knowingly submits, or causes to submit, false claims to the government is liable for three times the government’s damages plus a penalty that is linked to inflation. FCA liability can arise in other situations, such as when someone knowingly uses a false record material to a false...
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