When contractors cheat the GSA in illegal bid rigging and procurement contract scams, millions of tax dollars are lost.
I suspect GSA fraud – Let’s chat
The General Services Administration (GSA) is the procurement arm of the federal government. It obtains and oversees the equipment, buildings, supplies, and services that many offices and agencies of the federal government need to operate. From computers to cars, from IT services to building maintenance, the GSA is responsible for procurement contracts worth many millions of dollars every year.
Unsurprisingly, fraudsters often target these procurement contracts in their attempts to swindle the government.
Fraud relating to GSA contracts can arise in many different ways. Here are a few common examples.
Sometimes, the GSA sets aside contracts only for bidders who meet certain criteria. For example, contracts may be set aside for businesses under a certain size or businesses owned by veterans. If a contractor lies about their eligibility in order to gain access to these restricted contracts, they may face heavy financial penalties. And if you blow the whistle on set aside program fraud, you may be entitled to a large reward.
The government will generally award a procurement contract to the lowest bidder. Sometimes, a contractor will pay a kickback to a would-be competitor in order to fix bid prices. If two or more contractors conspire to drive up the price and undermine competition, the taxpayers suffer. If you blow the whistle on a company interfering with government procurement activities, you do the right thing for your country by trying to expose those who are cheating taxpayers.
A contractor entering a procurement agreement with the GSA must often certify that their goods are from countries that have trade agreements with the United States. A contractor or vendor that lies about their products’ origins can face significant penalties from the government. Unfortunately, without whistleblowers like you, fraud like this can often go undetected.
Because the GSA is funded by the federal government, companies who do business with the GSA must typically disclose current, accurate, and complete commercial discounts, so that the GSA can get the best prices on behalf of American taxpayers. But that does not always happen.
To highlight one example, CA Inc. agreed to pay $45 million to resolve allegations that it made false statements and claims when negotiating and administering GSA contracts for software licenses and maintenance services. The settlement resolved allegations that CA provided false information to the GSA about the prices it gave to commercial customers and failed to provide government customers with additional discounts when commercial discounts improved.3
In another case, VMware Inc. and Carahsoft Technology Corporation agreed to pay $75.5 million to resolve allegations that they misrepresented their commercial pricing and overcharged the government on VMware software products and services. VMware specializes in virtualization software and Carahsoft distributes IT products to federal, state, and local governments. Both companies allegedly lied to the government about their pricing structures for over five years.3
In one GSA fraud case impacting North Carolina and multiple other states, a roofing company and its subsidiary agreed to pay more than $60 million to resolve allegations that the companies did not give the government the same favorable pricing they provided to other customers.3
A case from South Carolina illustrates how nefarious some contractors can be in their attempts to swindle the government and taxpayers. A moving company and its associated entities were responsible for storing and shipping goods belonging to service members and federal employees. The company allegedly lied about the weights of the goods and charged the government prices based on the inflated numbers.
Fortunately, a whistleblower alerted the government through a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act. The U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, Bill Nettles, and a team of government lawyers reached a $5 million settlement with the alleged fraudsters.1,5 Bill Nettles is now the head of our firm, using his inside knowledge and his tremendous experience to fight for private citizens with the courage to come forward.
Call our experienced whistleblower attorneys before you do anything else and as soon as possible.
Why before you do anything else? We can tell you confidentially if you have a case. We can guide you each step of the way while fighting for your anonymity as long as possible and for your protection from retaliation.
Why as soon as possible? The first whistleblower to report fraud to the government is in the best position to receive a possible reward. And the reward can be significant – up to 30% of the government’s recovery.
If we decide to take your case and you don’t get a reward for reporting fraud, you owe us no fee. Learn how our contingency fee eliminates barriers to justice.2
Whether you are an employee or a competitor, if you suspect a company is cheating the government, let’s talk. We are here to put you at ease as we try to help you determine — confidentially and discreetly — if you should move forward with a whistleblower/qui tam claim.
We appreciate the struggle you may be facing. That is why we have a You-First Policy in place. We will try to protect you regardless of your involvement. Chat with a real person, contact us online, or call 1-888-292-8852 right now.
5 Case handled by one of our attorneys prior to formation of Carolina Whistleblower Attorneys.
“Bill has the ability to ‘think outside the box’…which makes him extremely effective as an advocate for his clients.” 1 — Attorney who previously worked with Bill
If you’re wondering if it’s a good idea to speak with a whistleblower lawyer about what you know, let us set the record straight.
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